War Torn
by CamsthiSky
Summary: Waking up to find you're waist deep into a war you didn't remember ever happening can be disorienting for any fourteen year old boy, especially after bringing his friends back to a past safe from Byakuran's reign. And yet, Tsuna can't help but think dealing with Byakuran would be better than this. Oh well, what was that saying? "If you're going through hell, keep going."
1. Chapter 1

When he woke up cradled in Gokudera's arms, Tsuna knew something was wrong.

"Goku...dera-kun?" Tsuna called uncertainly.

The bomber didn't respond. He kept his head to his chest, silver hair curtaining his face. Tsuna took comfort in the fact that Gokudera wasn't dead; his light, even breathing suggesting that he was just asleep.

Tsuna's head was cradled into Gokudera's shoulder. He shifted, immediately hissing as injuries twinged and cramped muscles protested. He must have been lying like this for a while if he was already so sore. Rolling out of Gokudera's loosened grip, Tsuna shakily scrambled to his feet.

He looked around him. It was dark, but he could still make out enough in the gloom to tell that he was in some sort of cave. Gokudera was propped up against a rounded wall of stone. He checked the silver-haired teen for any injuries, but the worst damage the bomber had were a few scratches here and there. Finding nothing life threatening, Tsuna looked at his surroundings again, this time with a more curious gleam in his brown eyes. There wasn't much to the cave. Just rocks and dirt.

As much as he wanted to ask the bomber where they were, he didn't feel right waking the exhausted teen. Gokudera had bags under his eyes and he hadn't even stirred when Tsuna had called out to him. Tsuna would feel horrible if he woke the bomber from what was obviously a much needed rest. Plus, if Tsuna tried to apologize for it, Gokudera would probably make himself out to be in the wrong when his precious "Tenth" needed something.

Sighing, Tsuna brushed off the dirt from his favorite short-sleeved hoodie, gazing at the bomber apologetically, even though he knew Gokudera wouldn't see it. He sent a silent promise to Gokudera that he would be back soon and headed towards the mouth of the cave. If he couldn't ask Gokudera, then he would just have to find out for himself.

Reaching the opening, he let the cool night breeze wash over him. Squinting, the brunet tried to make heads or tails of his surroundings. It wasn't a dark night—the moon was full and millions of stars were glittering—but Tsuna's eyebrows quirked up in confusion, not understanding the piles of what looked like—

Tsuna put a horrified hand to his mouth, eyes widening as his senses kicked in to take in everything that lie before him.

It was an understatement to call this a battlefield. It looked more like a massacre. Thousands upon thousands of bodies stretched out upon the field before him, and the cliff faces that surrounded the valley were smeared with red. Dismembered limbs were strewn around, and some even speared on swords or arrows, displayed like human trophies. Moans from the living that must have been abandoned and left to die haunted the battlefield—massacre, his brain corrected—like ghosts. It was like something from a nightmare.

Tsuna's legs buckled and he slid to his knees in despair. He forgot what it was like to breathe as he wrestled with something within him. Warm tears traced down his cheeks. He wanted to look away from the horrifying scene, but he couldn't force himself to do so and a pitiful wail bubbled up in his throat.

What _was_ all this? Why? _Why_? Why were there so many people left here to die?

Tsuna jerked as if he had been electrocuted. There were still _people_ out there. People who were still _alive_. Tsuna pulled himself up to stand on trembling legs. He couldn't leave them out there to die. Not like this. Abandoned and alone. No. He couldn't.

He took one shaky step forward...and was immediately yanked back into the safety of the cave.

"Gokudera-kun!" he sobbed desperately, realizing exactly who was holding him back.

Tsuna found himself struggling to get out of the bomber's tight grip, but his shock left him weak and clumsy. The bomber, on the other hand, was nothing of the sort. Gokudera looked calm and collected, if not a bit pitying. Tsuna didn't understand what was going on anymore.

"Gokudera-kun, _please_! Tsuna choked out, chest heaving. More tears leaked out of his chocolate brown eyes as he looked back at that terrifying, sorrowful scene of bodies and blood. "They're _dying_."

"I forgot how much you could care," the bomber murmured quietly.

Tsuna fell silent at those words, eyes wide at the implications. He stopped struggling against Gokudera's grip and felt himself go limp, his legs refusing to hold him any longer. Gokudera caught him and easily lifted him up, bridle style, carrying him to the back into the gloomy cave.

"Come on, Tenth. We have a lot to talk about."

Tsuna curled an arm around Gokudera's neck, pulling himself closer to his best friend's comfort.

_This can't be happening_.

* * *

"What do you remember?"

They were sitting back down against the cave wall, in the same position Tsuna had woken up in. Whether or not it was Tsuna or Gokudera who wouldn't let go of the other, the brunet didn't know, but he kept his head tucked in the crook of the Gokudera's neck. The tears had stopped, leaving his cheeks damp with tear tracks, but Tsuna didn't bother wiping them away. He was still trembling, shaking hands fisted into Gokudera's button up shirt.

"We...I...We just got sent back to the past. I-I saw my mom and then I suddenly woke up here," Tsuna explained quietly. He shrunk closer to Gokudera. "I-I don't understand what's going on. Why're there...why are so many people _dead_?"

Gokudera sighed, running a gentle thumb along the bandage on Tsuna's cheek. "Is that where you got this? You were injured fighting Byakuran?" he asked.

Tsuna nodded timidly. He had actually forgotten about the girls' careful patch up session before they had left for the past. Kyoko, Haru, and Bianchi had started immediate first aid on that scarred battlefield, and Tsuna could still feel see the girls' worried but determined faces as they struggled to treat those in the worst condition first. Then, the girls had sent hours afterward going over each of Tsuna's friends, making sure every injury was accounted for and treated properly.

Tsuna tore his mind away from the past—the future—and gazed up at Gokudera shyly, admiring how calm he was acting. If it had been _his_ Gokudera, the bomber would probably be boasting about how amazing Tsuna had been during the fight with Byakuran. But this wasn't his Gokudera. This was an older, calmer, more experienced Gokudera that Tsuna wasn't as familiar with.

It was true that Gokudera only seemed two or three years older than Tsuna, but to the brunet, that was more than enough. The chasm of experience was wide enough for Tsuna to recognize that he was severely outclassed, even if he hadn't seen the bomber fight in this time yet.

_Time_.

"This is the future, isn't it?" Tsuna asked, curling tighter into Gokudera's shoulder.

Warm arms encircled the brunet and Tsuna welcomed the comfort. It wasn't unusual for Yamamoto- _his_ Yamamoto and Ryohei when they wanted to cheer him up, but his Gokudera had never felt comfortable enough to have any physical contact with the young boss candidate. Tsuna wasn't sure why, but it was something he hoped to find out. This embrace, with _this time's_ Gokudera felt strange, but considering the circumstances, Tsuna didn't feel the need to comment on the oddity. It was actually pretty nice.

"Yes, Tenth," Gokudera confirmed. "I turned seventeen last month."

Tsuna nodded slowly, already figuring that to be the case. Gokudera was already seventeen, meanwhile, Tsuna had just barely turned fifteen. Almost two years into the future and Tsuna was faced this...this nightmare of a reality.

"I don't understand," Tsuna reiterated. "Why is everyone out there dead? And why are we in a cave?"

Gokudera sighed, clutching the younger boy closer to him, as if to shield him from the reality he was about to dive headfirst into.

"It's...complicated," Gokudera said. "I...I'm hoping that we can figure out some way to get you home so you won't have to know everything that's happened, but...I...there is still some knowledge that you need to take back to the past. Hopefully, what I tell you can prevent this horrible future."

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked, puzzling over the bomber's statement. Dread shot through him as he realized why Gokudera's words sounded so familiar and Tsuna started to panic. "Is this like- Are you going to ask me to assassinate somebody?!"

Tsuna's eyes widened when Gokudera looked away. He wasn't sure what that meant, but Tsuna's brain was filling in the blanks rather quickly. His fists clenched the older teen's shirt tighter. There was no way he could kill someone, especially not after being asked to kill Shoichi. If he had gone back and killed Shoichi, there would have been no plan to fight Byakuran. The future—every future—would have been doomed.

"Gokudera-kun! I-I can't do something like that!" Tsuna exclaimed, his voice now several notches higher than it had been. "I'm not some ruthless killer who can take away others' lives whenever I want!"

For some reason Gokudera winced at Tsuna's words. The bomber sighed and looked down at Tsuna with tired eyes. "I know. I know you, Tenth, and I wouldn't ask you to do something so heartless right after Byakuran."

Tsuna was taken aback by that, his heart clenching unconsciously as he struggled to understand what Gokudera was implying.

"W-What are you talking about?"

Gokudera shook his head and smiled softly at the younger teen, and though he seemed to try and hide it, Tsuna caught the regret that flashed through those forest green eyes. "It's nothing. I'm not going to ask you to kill anyone, okay?"

Gokudera looked awful. Tsuna hadn't really noticed it before, too caught up in his own raging emotions to pay any attention, but Gokudera looked so world weary. Now that his green eyes were open, the bags underneath seemed much darker and heavier. The way he held himself was different as well. He wasn't the confident right hand man of the Vongola Decimo, but a teenager who had simply seen too much of this cruel existence. It made Tsuna sad to see his best friend looking so...old.

"Okay," Tsuna final agreed. The brunet relaxed back into Gokudera, not remember tensing up. "Will you tell me what's going on, though?"

Gokudera smiled again, but instead of a reassuring smile, this one was tinged with bitterness. Tsuna immediately felt guilty and silently berated himself for asking such a careless question.

"W-Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- Y-You don't have to tell me if you d-don't want to! I-I was just curious and I wasn't thinking!"

Gokudera looked like a deer caught in the headlights, blinking owlishly down at the stuttering mess that was supposed to be his strong, capable boss. Tsuna felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as he curled in on himself, wishing he could just disappear. Thankfully, Gokudera just let out a low chuckle, giving Tsuna a reminiscent look.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that."

'I-I'm sorry!" Tsuna squeaked out again. Gokudera exhaled exasperatedly, shaking his head.

"I think I was too busy idolizing you that I didn't realize how shy and tender-hearted you really were."

"What do you-"

"I know I used to shout it out all the time, about how you were the best at everything, but I didn't really understand how much that compassion made you try and shoulder everyone's burdens," Gokudera said.

Tsuna was speechless. He stared up at the other in astonishment. "Sh-Shoulder everyone's burdens?" Tsuna wondered, frowning at the bomber. "I don't think I..."

Tsuna trailed off, puzzling over Gokudera's words as he turned them over and again in his mind. Did Tsuna really try and take on everyone else's burdens? He wasn't so sure of that. Sure he didn't want any of his friends to be unhappy, but he never tried to take them away completely. His friends wouldn't have let him if had tried, anyways.

"I started to notice it more when we got into high school," Gokudera admitted. "I think it had a lot to do with you taking over the position as Decimo. You suddenly had to lead a mafia family at sixteen and after only three years of knowing the mafia existed. I could tell it wore on you."

"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, unsure of what the bomber was getting at. A feeling was telling Tsuna that it had something to do with the nightmare outside, but he didn't know how to phrase his question properly without bringing back that bitter smile. He looked up into the warm green eyes of his right hand man, taking a deep, grounding breath. "Does...Does this have anything to do with who killed those people out there? D-Did I know who did it?"

"There isn't anybody out there."

Tsuna's head shot up, forehead colliding with Gokudera's nose. The bomber reeled back in surprise and pain, clutching his face, but Tsuna couldn't care less. "What?! What are you talking about? I saw them with my own eyes! You can't seriously be saying-"

"Calm down, Tenth!" Gokudera exclaimed, sounding more like his old self, even if it was sort of nasally. Tsuna relaxed back into Gokudera's arms when he heard the familiar title slip past the bomber's lips. "Those bodies you saw are just illusions."

"B-But...But the blood!" Tsuna knew the difference between illusions and reality, and even if the bodies weren't real, the blood was. That sharp metallic smell gave him all the proof he needed. Nobody but Mukuro could possibly conjure up an illusion of a massacre that real looking, anyways.

Gokudera grimaced. "That was mostly ours. Mine and the other Tenth's. No one is actually dead."

"But it looked so real. The...The blood...There was so much of it," Tsuna whispered, unable to comprehend what the bomber was getting at. How could that massacre possibly belong to an illusion? And _that much_ blood had been spilled from Gokudera and the other Tsuna? There was just no way.

"From past battles," Gokudera revealed. "We've been at war with these bastards for almost four months now."

"I-I don't..."

What could he say to that? _Sorry I came to the wrong conclusion when I found thousands of what looked like dead bodies? Sorry I freaked from seeing a massacre sitting not twenty feet from where I was sleeping?_

Gokudera sighed and looked towards the mouth of the cave. "We should be going. It's getting closer to dawn and we still need to meet up with Yamamoto and Reborn."

"W-Wait," Tsuna murmured, feeling the numbing shock finally settle into his bones. "J-Just tell me why the illusion is there. Please." Tsuna tried to sound stronger than he felt, but his voice betrayed him, breaking on the last word.

Gokudera looked down at him in sympathy. "It's for protection," he admitted. "It's there so no one finds us."

Tsuna wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. After defeating Byakuran and saving the future, his world was suddenly turned upside down as he was again thrown into a future that should not have happened. Fists clenched in Gokudera's shirt, Tsuna gritted his teeth, trying his hardest to hold back his tears. When would the nightmares end?

Tsuna spent the rest of the night staring at the cave's wall in numb fascination. He tried not to let his mind wander, afraid the tears would start back up again. Daybreak came quickly as Gokudera had predicted. Gokudera helped the younger boy to his feet before grabbing Tsuna's hand and leading him out of the cave. Tsuna walked forward on trembling legs, numbness trying its hardest to slow him down.

The two reached the mouth of the cave, but Tsuna hesitated at the opening, looking at Gokudera pleadingly. The elder gave him a wry smile.

"The illusion's gone," Gokudera reassured him. "It's not necessary anymore."

Tsuna nodded, anxious knot of emotions still refusing to untangle at those words. Tsuna stepped out of the cave and into the gray morning light. He almost gagged. The bodies may not have been there, but that didn't mean the blood was gone. It was still splattered everywhere, and now that it was daylight and the illusion had been dismissed, he could clearly see how _much_ of it there was. Tsuna gripped Gokudera's hand tighter.

Gokudera squeezed back, guiding him away from the worst of the carnage. Eventually, Tsuna had to close his eyes. He walked blindly behind Gokudera, the only sound in the valley his short, panicked breaths.

"You can open your eyes now."

Tsuna opened one eye. And then the other. The tension in his shoulders left and Tsuna leaned forward into Gokudera, embracing the bomber wearily where he found himself inhaling the familiar smell of smoke that clung to Gokudera's dark clothing. Tsuna could hardly bother himself to care, though. For some reason, he was exhausted.

Gokudera chuckled, a hand ruffling the unruly spiky locks that tickled his chin. "You're a real baby, you know that?"

Tsuna's jaw almost dropped at the comment. Gokudera—even if it was fondly—insulting him?! There was no way this was really Gokudera. The real Gokudera would blow himself to kingdom come if he heard his future self say such a thing.

"Y-You're really Gokudera-kun, r-right?" Tsuna stuttered.

Gokudera looked surprised that Tsuna had even asked such a question. He nodded slowly, a strange look on his face, and Tsuna got the feeling that he had asked the wrong question. "There would be few people who would dare impersonate the Vongola Decimo's guardians," Gokudera said solemnly.

Tsuna got the impression that it wasn't out of intimidation of the Vongola.

The duo moved on from the cliffs. Tsuna hadn't really noticed it before, but the cliffs that had surrounded the valley were really part of a mountain. Tsuna looked up in awe as the teens walked out of the chasm.

"What is this place?" Tsuna asked in awe. The sights were breath taking. From here the cliffs tapered off, becoming rocky hills before tapering off into grassland. The slope they were descending lead further into the field, but Gokudera turned to the left, right before the two were about to enter the plant life.

"We're in the Dolomites, right now," Gokudera answered.

Tsuna's grip on Gokudera's hand grew tighter. "Dolomites?" he asked. It sounded foreign. Tsuna probably should have realized it before now, but they most likely weren't anywhere near Namimori at the moment.

Gokudera nodded. "It's a mountain range in Northern Italy, known for its cliffs."

"There sure are a lot of them," Tsuna muttered as Gokudera past another rock face. The whole mountain seemed to be made up of nothing but cliffs the higher they got.

Gokudera didn't respond but Tsuna read his regretful silence like an open book. Tsuna figured it had something to do with the future. Another thought crossed Tsuna's mind as they scrambled over another boulder. With Tsuna refusing to let go of Gokudera's hand, it was an awkward clamber over the rock, but somehow Gokudera managed to keep the two from getting too scraped up.

"Hey...Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked hesitantly, eyes turned downward in an attempt to keep his fragile emotions hidden. He felt like a glass of water sitting precariously at the edge of the table. If one more thing came crashing his way, he'd probably end up on the floor, shattered, everything inside him spilled out in the open for the world to see. "Why were we in that cave? Were we hiding from those people you mentioned?"

From under his bangs, Tsuna could see Gokudera's fists clench slightly before they relaxed again. "The Tenth and I had just fought a whole battalion off alone when it happened. We were heading for a place to rest when the Tenth suddenly collapsed."

Tsuna looked up, eyes wide. Gokudera's voice had become strained, like he was gritting his teeth and trying not to cry at the same time. Tsuna could only guess since he couldn't see the bomber's face, but he could definitely see the tension in Gokudera's ramrod straight back, despite the gray hooded jacket.

"The next thing I know, the Tenth disappears in pink smoke I haven't seen for months and I'm faced with you. I didn't know what else to do, since I knew I couldn't carry you all the way to the base. It was getting dark anyways, so I went to the closest safe place I could find."

"Safe place?" Tsuna wondered, his voice a little flat. Memories of seeing that terrifying massacre flashed through the forefront of his mind. Gokudera nodded.

"Yes," Gokudera confirmed, gesturing to the mountainous scenery around them. "Basically, these mountains are Vongola territory, but that doesn't really mean much to the bastards who we're fighting. So the Tenth decided to set up safe places in the locations of past battles—where the Family could rest, guarded by illusions."

"What would happen if the enemy found the safe place?" Tsuna asked.

Gokudera shook his head. "That can't happen. The illusions of the battle send out an undetectable signal to anyone who isn't Vongola. You could think of it like influencing someone else's thoughts, but it basically just makes them pass by like it's just another massacre the Vongola have forgotten to clean up."

Tsuna shivered. This wasn't making any sense.

"But why does it have to be dead bodies?" the brunet huffed, not caring that he sounded a little like Lambo when the five year old was refused sweets right before dinner.

Gokudera halted to a stop, turning to look at the younger boy. Tsuna was surprised by that amused smile and his cheeks immediately heated up. Gokudera was _laughing_ at him. Tsuna knew he was acting like a four year old kid afraid of the dark, but every time he closed his eyes, all he saw were dead bodies and a bloody battlefield.

"It's like that so the enemy won't find anything strange about the place," Gokudera explained, clearing his throat to stop the chuckles. It didn't help, though. Tsuna was already beyond embarrassed. "If we put up a regular Mist barrier then the enemy would find a way to get past it. We've already tried it enough times to know that it doesn't work."

"Why not?" Tsuna asked.

"It's not subtle enough. With the bodies, the enemy doesn't realize the thoughts are being pushed in a certain direction, but the barrier is different," Gokudera said. "It's almost like putting up a giant 'Come and Get Me' sign."

Tsuna frowned at that. He could understand why the future him had decided against the barrier, but still, why couldn't it be a field of flowers or something like that? Tsuna just didn't understand what the other him was thinking. Had the Tsuna of this time become so battle-hardened that dead bodies had become such a common thing?

Tsuna winced slightly as they climbed up a steep part of the path. Tsuna may have done a lot of stamina training with Reborn, Lal, and the future Hibari, but he was still recovering from the fight with Byakuran and his injuries hadn't had a lot of time to heal.

He rubbed absentmindedly at his ribs, still remembering the painful crack they had made when Byakuran had crushed him half to death. Fuuta had told him later that he had broken two ribs and fractured three more, and even with sun flames there wasn't much anyone could do. Luckily they hadn't bothered Tsuna too much since appearing here, making Tsuna wonder a bit, but he didn't complain. He'd rather have his injuries magically disappear then be forced to move through these mountains with broken ribs.

The pair had made it past the difficult part of the climb and Tsuna stopped to catch his breath, letting his mind wander.

Tsuna had made it back to the past. He had finally rid himself of the heavy weight of the future, only to have it thrown back onto his shoulders with a weight ten times heavier. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing here or why and he missed his mother. How long had it been since he had seen her, _really_ seen her. He didn't count those last two minutes while he watched Lambo and I-pin climb all over _his_ mother in joy-

Tsuna shook his head, banishing that thought from his mind. Lambo and I-pin might not have been blood related, but they were still a part of his family. They had missed his mom, too. Tsuna hadn't been the only one stuck in a future he had no idea how to save.

But he was now.

"Tenth?"

Tsuna jumped and almost ended up face planting into the ground in his fright. He looked around only to see Gokudera gazing at him with concerned eyes. "W-What? What's wrong?"

"You let go."

"What?" Tsuna asked. Gokudera's eyebrows crumpled up in worry, taking Tsuna's hand in his. That's when it hit the brunet. _You let go_, Gokudera had said. Oh. For some reason, in his thoughts he had let the bomber's hand slip from his own. He squeezed the bomber's hand gratefully, feeling sort of grounded with his friend's hand to hold in this strange future. "Sorry."

Gokudera shook his head, giving Tsuna a smile. "We're here."

They approached a particularly tall cliff face and Tsuna couldn't help but be reminded of the one back in Namimori that Reborn had forced him to climb in the name of training. Gokudera stepped closer and placed a palm on a smooth patch of the rocky wall. Tsuna watched in amazement as the patch glowed a soft white. Gokudera stepped back and pulled Tsuna behind him, acting as a shield between him and the wall.

"Stay behind me," Gokudera warned as rock split in two. Tsuna, fascinated, only half obeyed the bomber's statement, his face stuck out from behind the taller teen's shoulder. Tsuna was small for his age and Gokudera had two years on him. There was no way he was going to be able to watch from over the other teen's shoulder unless he stood on his tip toes.

The cliff parted to reveal a secret entrance into the mountain's heart. Tsuna's eyebrows rose. It reminded the brunet greatly of the underground Vongola base ten years—in this time it would be eight—in the future. The one that had been destroyed by the Real Six Funeral Wreaths.

Tsuna clutched the back of Gokudera's shirt tightly as the two stepped into the cool room. The brunet jumped slightly when the doors swiftly closed behind them, settling down as he let the homey atmosphere wash over him. There wasn't much to the small room. It almost reminded Tsuna of a large coat closet or entrance hall, just spacey enough to fit nine or ten people comfortably.

True to Tsuna's comparison, the room held a rack of a different assortment of shoes as well as a myriad of different kinds of coats.

"Yo, Gokudera!"

Tsuna froze, mouth going dry as he dove behind Gokudera again. Two guardians down and Tsuna hadn't even been here for a day. He stayed behind Gokudera and out of sight of the room's other occupant, knowing the bomber must have had a reason to keep the younger teen hidden.

"What do you want, sword freak?" Gokudera growled harshly, crossing his arms. He sounded more like his old self than Tsuna had heard all day. Tsuna didn't have to see his face to know the bomber was scowling. "I'm tired and need to report to Reborn."

"Ah, right," Yamamoto said, and Tsuna could imagine a sheepish look on the baseball player's face as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad you came back safely."

Gokudera didn't speak for a moment. If Tsuna didn't know better, he would say that Gokudera was feeling guilty about something. Tsuna's fists clenched tighter into Gokudera's jacket. If this was how things were going to keep going—regretful eyes, guilty silences—then Tsuna had half a mind to punch the bomber in the face. He was going to drive Tsuna crazy.

"Y-Yeah," Gokudera finally said.

Another heavy silence permeated the air, and Tsuna had had it. Keeping his hands fisted in the bomber's jacket, Tsuna cautiously peeked out from behind Gokudera's shoulder. Chocolate brown eyes stared this older Yamamoto up and down.

Yamamoto had grown an inch or so since reaching seventeen, still dominating Gokudera by a good three or four inches. The baseball player wore a brown cargo jacket over a white V-neck, a strange necklace hanging over it. His tan pants seemed a little too long, as they were folded up at the bottom, but they went well with his spotless white shoes. The thing that Tsuna found odd, though, was that Yamamoto's bamboo sword was nowhere to be found.

Sharp amber eyes flashed towards Tsuna. The brunet ducked back behind Gokudera, but he knew it was too late. His heart sinking, Tsuna mentally cursed himself. There must have been a reason Gokudera didn't want Tsuna to be seen yet, even if he hadn't told the brunet.

"Hey, Gokudera," Yamamoto said, a strange, almost accusing tone to his voice, "why is Tsuna hiding behind you?"

Both Tsuna and Gokudera stiffened—the bomber a little less noticeably than the timid teen. Shyly, Tsuna kept one hand on Gokudera's arm as he stepped out into the open under the scrutiny of narrowed amber eyes. Tsuna wasn't sure what to expect from these future guardians anymore. Gokudera wasn't worshipping the ground he walked on—which he would have been totally fine with in his own time, but it just didn't feel normal when so many other things were so strange—and Yamamoto wasn't as naïve as he used to be. It left Tsuna's mind was reeling.

"Hi Yamamoto," Tsuna said quietly.

Yamamoto was quiet as he looked the brunet over critically. Tsuna could almost see the confusion in the baseball player's as his mind struggled to come up with a conclusion. Tsuna trembled under the almost glare, not used to having that look on his friend's face turned on him. The glare lessened when Yamamoto seemed to realize he was scaring Tsuna. Tsuna almost collapsed in relief.

"Sorry about that, Tsuna!" Yamamoto exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just surprised to see you so small again."

"You mean I get taller?" Tsuna couldn't help but blurt out.

Gokudera burst out laughing while Yamamoto chuckled. Tsuna felt his cheeks heat up again. Why did he always seem to be embarrassed in front of his friends' future selves? It was getting kind of old.

"I forgot how cute Tsuna used to be," Yamamoto said, making Tsuna blush further.

Gokudera cleared his throat, looking back at Tsuna apologetically. "I'm sorry, Tenth," the bomber said, an apology lacing his words. "I meant to get you in through the security measures and up to Reborn immediately. I didn't mean for the sword freak to discover that you aren't from this time."

"Ah! No!" Tsuna exclaimed, eyes widening as he fell back into that old habit of his. He waved his arms in front of him, something he was used to doing when he tried to placate Gokudera and his stupid attempts to sacrifice himself to apologize for his mistakes. "It's okay, Gokudera-kun! I don't mind if Yamamoto knows. It's Reborn that I'm worried about."

"As it should be," a voice growled from behind Yamamoto.

Both of Tsuna's guardians stiffened at the deep voice and Yamamoto spun around. Tsuna chanced a baffled look at Gokudera, only to see a painfully expressionless painted on the bomber's face. Yamamoto took a couple steps back, allowing Tsuna to see that the cheerful, carefree smile the baseball player usually wore was replaced with a small, uneasy one. Tsuna shivered and turned his attention to the shadow towering in the doorway. If the person lying in wait against the shadowed wall could make Tsuna's guardians act like this, the brunet wasn't sure he wanted to meet them.

"Ah, hey," Yamamoto chuckled nervously, a hand coming up to finger that weird necklace. "I thought you were handling the situation with Hibari."

Gokudera's piercing gaze snapped to the baseball player, eyes narrowing. "What situation?"

"I already took care of it," the deep voice responded. A tall man stepped forward from out of the shadows, revealing himself to Tsuna and his guardians. The brunet stared at the newcomer with stunned eyes. Tsuna's brown gaze drifted over the crisp, clean suit, the curled side burns, the green gun with a finger hovering over the trigger, and the spiky black locks hidden underneath a startlingly familiar fedora.

Tsuna took a step backward, astonished at who his brain was telling him this was. It couldn't be. And yet...

"Reborn...?"

* * *

**Hi there! So I wanted to get this up before I headed out of town for a few weeks. As a consequence of this, I won't be posting another chapter until at least the end of April. After that, I plan on updating on a bi-weekly basis. I do have more chapters written and a pretty good idea of where I want this story to go. Still, that doesn't mean life and school don't get in the way and I apologize in advance if I don't make it up on time.**

**Leave me a review to let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! So I'm back earlier than I thought I would be! Last week was a bit rough for me, but I got through it! Anyways, here's the next chapter! Chapter 3 should be up before the end of the month, too. Read and review!**

**Thanks to _tofldh _and _Spiral Reflection_ for reviewing!**

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_Tsuna took a step backward, astonished at who his brain was telling him this was. It couldn't be. And yet..._

"_Reborn...?"_

The man—because it couldn't be Reborn; Reborn was his violent infant tutor, not a tall, European man that looked scary enough to excite Hibari—took another step forward, rapidly closing the gap between himself and the Tenth Generation. Tsuna stiffened as the man came closer and closer, slowly making his way towards Tsuna and his friends until he was right in front of the brunet, looking down upon him with a cold fury burning in his shadowed eyes.

Tsuna squeezed his own eyes shut as the man lifted a fist, punching down on the brunet's head forcefully, but in a very familiar manner. Tears pricked at the corners of Tsuna's eyes as he rubbed the top of his head, looking up at the man with a pout on his face.

"Reborn!" Tsuna whined automatically. "Why did you do that?"

"Felt like it," came the man's response, moving to step away, and Tsuna's heart could only ache at the familiar words. Looking closer, Tsuna could see the similarities start to match up. The suit, Leon sitting on the edge of the fedora, the side burns; all of it was Reborn.

"Ah, Reborn!" Tsuna called out, stopping the man from moving back a step when small hands came to clutch at a suited arm. Reborn looked down at him, amusement dancing in his eyes. That smirk was in its rightful place as he gazed at his baffled student. Was this really his tutor?

"What do you want, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn asked, carefully removing Tsuna's hand from his suit. It was too late, though. Reborn sighed when he saw that Tsuna had already wrinkled the suit jacket. "A boss shouldn't act like a four year old child in these situations. Stop whining and come with me."

Stunned, Tsuna waited for words to make it past his dry lips, but they refused to come. Reborn turned around in a very businesslike manner and stepped through the open the door that led deeper into the mountain. After meeting the semi-amused gazes of Gokudera and Yamamoto, Tsuna could only wonder what the heck was going on here.

"We...should go," Yamamoto finally said, a small smile on his face. "If we wait too long he might end up trying to shoot Tsuna again."

Gokudera snorted while Tsuna internally screamed in frustration and trepidation at that mental image. _Again?!_ Didn't Yamamoto know that Tsuna faced that threat almost every single day of his life? But one look at Yamamoto's troubled amber eyes was enough to get Tsuna moving. After all, he was two years into the future and he had no idea what the heck was happening around him anymore.

The trio—Tsuna rather reluctantly—followed after Reborn, trailing a few feet behind the man. Yamamoto walked on Tsuna's left, giving the troubled boy a reassuring smile whenever Tsuna looked over at him while Gokudera stayed on his right, staring straight ahead and refusing to meet Tsuna's questioning gaze.

They passed several people who lingered in the hallways, and almost every single one of them looked at Tsuna with strange, curious eyes. Shivering after meeting a young Italian woman's accusing stare, he decided to keep his brown eyes forward, refusing to look at those they passed in the wide halls.

"I had hoped I could get the Tenth to Reborn without the whole base knowing," Gokudera muttered testily, scowling at the floor and Tsuna couldn't help but agree with the bomber. The silver-haired teen's sharp gaze soon snapped to Yamamoto, as if a thought had just occurred to him. "Hey, sword freak! Why the hell were you in the entrance hall?"

Tsuna hadn't noticed the nickname change before, but wisely kept his mouth shut. He had a feeling if he asked, he wouldn't like the answer. Besides, he was just as curious as Gokudera.

"Reborn told me to go look for you guys since you were supposed to come back last night," Yamamoto said, a small smile playing on his lips. "But what's up with you? You're usually not this testy until at least dinner."

Tsuna gazed at Yamamoto, speechless. It was true that Gokudera hadn't seemed as easy to anger as _his_ Gokudera did, but Tsuna had figured that the scowl was kept in place because Yamamoto was here. The baseball player was known to ruffle the bomber's feathers every time he opened his mouth. Tsuna had assumed that Gokudera had just mellowed out _a bit_, never once guessing that _this wasn't normal_.

"Ignore it, Yamamoto," Reborn called over his shoulder. "Gokudera's just on edge because he didn't realize he could just walk in without trying to be all secretive."

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked, immediately regretting opening his big fat mouth. He shrunk in on himself as all eyes seemed to snap to his face. If he had known that would happen, the brunet would have just kept quiet and let the conversation run its course.

Reborn chuckled, turning back to face the hallway. "Well, Dame-Tsuna, I hate to break this to you, but you're just as much of a loser in the future as you are now. I doubt anyone but your guardians would have noticed that you weren't the Tsuna of this time."

Tsuna winced, remembering the woman's accusing stare. "Then why is everyone looking at me like I assassinated the president," he muttered, crossing his arms protectively over his chest and ducking his head as they passed through another crowded hallway. This was getting to be troublesome.

"If Gokudera had told you to walk in here with your head held high, not a single person would have blinked at your entrance. They would have thought it was the future you coming back after a successful mission, an inch shorter or not," Reborn revealed after they had passed the group of people. "The problem is, you don't have any confidence in yourself and your subordinates are noticing. Even if they don't know you well, they know that _you_ aren't the one who leads them. Step up and be a boss, Dame-Tsuna."

"I'm not going to be a mafia boss!" Tsuna bristled, turning to scowl at the floor again as they walked.

Reborn just smirked as he looked back at Tsuna again. "You say that now, but just look at where you are. If you keep denying it in front of the people you lead, you aren't going to have any of their respect. Who would want to follow someone who doesn't want to be a leader, after all?"

Tsuna sighed and bit his lip. As much as the brunet wanted to just concede and admit Reborn was right, he didn't feel comfortable giving in to this tall, scary man that acted so much like his tutor, and yet wasn't. Tsuna wasn't cut out for the mafia, and to give into it now, despite years of denying Reborn's words, it would probably kill something within him—a part of himself that hoped to stay normal, even with the chaos that ruled his life.

"I don't really care what you think about being a mafia boss," Reborn finished, tilting his fedora down to shadow his eyes—a move that Tsuna remembered quite well. It was what Reborn did when he was unable to completely mask his emotions. "But don't say anything that would suggest that you aren't really you to the people here. You may not be from this time, but these people don't know that. Tsuna is supposed to be leading them in a war, and anything _you_ say to upset the delicate balance of this place could cause a riot. For now, stay out of the spotlight and let your guardians handle everything until we can get you back to your own time."

Tsuna didn't say anything, wincing at the jab at his uselessness. What _could_ he say? Reborn was right when he said that he shouldn't draw attention to himself. Tsuna wasn't from this time, and anything he did could cause problems that he had no idea how to clean up by himself, which would lead to trouble for everyone else.

"What's the situation with Hibari that you mentioned? Is he beating his trainees half to death again?" Gokudera asked, surprising everyone by the topic change.

Yamamoto looked relieved at the change of subject and hurried to answer the bomber's question, the tension in his arms relaxing. "Ah, it's not entirely Hibari's fault," Yamamoto said, scratching his cheek. "You know how irritated he can get when the trainees act out against him."

"The problem is being taken care of," Reborn said smoothly, stopping in front of an elevator and placing his palm on the doors' surface.

The base—as Gokudera had called it—looked almost exactly like the one Tsuna had stayed in for months ten years into the future, the only difference being the entrance hall he wasn't familiar with. Secretly, Tsuna hoped that the layout was as similar as the style. He didn't want to have to memorize a new map and silently prayed he didn't find himself lost during his stay.

Metal doors opened with a whoosh of air and Tsuna and his companions stepped into the large space. Again, Tsuna was surprised by the base and its spaciousness. The elevator could easily hold twenty to thirty people if they all squished together. There was more than enough room for Tsuna to give Reborn some berth as the doors slid shut. The hitman punched the button that Tsuna read as seventeen and the elevator began to move.

"Does Hibari-san cause a lot of problems?" Tsuna asked, tentatively breaking the silence. He blinked when all he got were strange looks. Stepping back as if to get away from the odd gleams in his friends' eyes, Tsuna could only wonder what it was he had said. "What?"

"Hibari...-san..." Gokudera said, a contemplative look on his face.

Yamamoto laughed, looking a little uneasy as he fingered his necklace again. "Look Tsuna," the baseball player started uncomfortably. "It's probably best if you don't call Hibari that."

"Shut up, sword freak," Gokudera said, although his voice didn't hold much ire. The bomber turned to Tsuna, an apologetic tone to his voice. "As annoying as Yamamoto is, he's right. I don't think it'd go over well if you called that damn prefect Hibari-san."

Tsuna blinked at the unnerved looks in his guardians' eyes. What was so wrong with putting the honorific at the end of the skylark's name?

Reborn turned toward Tsuna, smirking at the brunet. The hitman's eyes twinkled mischievously as he looked the small brunet over from head to toe. Tsuna shrunk back, unused to the tall man's scrutiny.

"I say let Tsuna do it," Reborn said casually. "If I remember correctly, Tsuna's a stuttering mess in front of Hibari at fifteen since the head of the Disciplinary Committee still rules Namimori Middle School with an iron fist. It'd be amusing to see how Hibari would take it right after dealing with those two idiots."

"Re-Reborn!" Gokudera protested. "I don't think that'd be funny at all! The Tenth may be able to take Hibari on no problem usually, but right now he's injured!"

Tsuna's hand flew to his side, lips parted and eyes wide in astonishment. He hadn't thought that the bomber had caught on to his injuries. They hadn't bothered him much since arriving in the future and he had tried to keep Gokudera ignorant of their existence. He had had some trouble climbing over the boulders and cliffs, but that had pretty much been the extent that they had bothered him. They hardly even hurt now. Gokudera hadn't made a fuss, so neither had he.

Both Yamamoto's and Reborn's eyes sharpened in an instant, skeptical eyes looking the brunet over and again. Reborn's gaze immediately settled on his torso, where his hand clutched at his ribs, while Yamamoto's amber eyes roamed over his face, seemingly noticing the bandages on his cheeks for the first time.

Tsuna flinched and clutched at his side harder, side-eyeing the bomber. Gokudera looked guilty, but didn't take back his words. Tsuna could only wonder why, if the bomber knew that Tsuna was injured, he didn't insist on taking Tsuna to see Ryohei or to the infirmary to get checked out as soon as they entered the base.

Reborn scowled, stalking over Tsuna. The hitman yanked up the brunet's shirt, ignoring Tsuna's squawk of protest. A myriad of black and purple bruises mottled Tsuna's ribcage outlining each broken rib and fracture and it took all Tsuna's determination to not attempt to flee from that narrowed obsidian gaze.

To Yamamoto's credit, he was keeping his surprise to himself, looking at the brunet's torso with blank eyes. From the corner of his eye, Tsuna could tell the baseball player was trying to keep himself together, hiding his emotions in order to grapple with the new development. The brunet wondered if it was something Yamamoto had learned from Reborn. Tsuna decided to give Yamamoto some time and turned his attention back to his tutor.

"What _is_ this?" Reborn hissed, not at Tsuna, but at the bomber. Gokudera flinched at the harsh tone, but didn't turn his eyes away from the cold harsh glare of Tsuna's tutor.

"It's-"

"I-It's not his fault!" Tsuna exclaimed, mortified that the hitman had blamed Gokudera so easily. "This is from the fight with Byakuran!"

Cold, furious eyes turned back to Tsuna, and the brunet tried not to flinch away again. "Why didn't anyone _heal_ you after the fight? There were plenty of sun flame users there. _I_ was there."

"They t-tried but-"

Tsuna's heart clenched in his chest as the onslaught of memories from the final fight with Byakuran suddenly slammed into him. He swayed dangerously on his feet, his body trembling. Eventually, trying to keep himself from falling into those memories was too much effort. Tsuna's knees finally gave out and buckled beneath him, the world slipping from eyes.

_Gloved hands trembled as he struggled to keep his flames from getting sucked in by the enemy's abilities. It was a clash of wills; one that would determine whose abilities succeeded the others. Tsuna's flame flickered as foreign flames began to get sucked into his technique._

_This was wrong. Why was he not able to feel the flames? Where would they have gone if they weren't absorbed by the Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised? His intuition was going off, warning him of another danger. This wasn't over. Byakuran was here._

_He was helpless to do anything. Even as he struggled to breathe, he couldn't help but wonder why he was always such a failure. It wasn't as if he weren't trying—he was, desperately—but that didn't seem to make a difference. No matter how much he hardened his resolve and let his flames engulf him, Byakuran easily matched him._

_And then he dragged Yuni into his fight. Guilt washed over him, but he kept struggling. He could save her. He had to. He just needed to escape-_

_That's when everything went dark._

_He only felt crushing darkness as he was blanketed by that obscurity. He couldn't breathe. Pain burst through his chest as he tried to pull much needed oxygen in, only to find that his lungs had refused to work. His ribs had cracked and his Dying Will Flame had abandoned him._

_He could no longer feel the warmth of his flame. It was gone, leaving Tsuna to wallow in that __**cold, lonely helplessness**__ that he couldn't seem to overcome, no matter his resolve. Where was his determination?_

_**You're not capable of being a hero**__, Reborn had said, and Tsuna couldn't help but find the words truer than ever. Byakuran was going to hurt Yuni and Tsuna could do nothing to help her. He was trapped in this darkness and there was no way out._

_He really was Dame-Tsuna._

It was the glow of yellow sun flames that brought Tsuna back to the waking world, eyes fluttering open to stare at the metallic ceiling above him. He felt warmth grip his bruised body, but the pain didn't fade from his chest. If anything, breathing became harder when his short, panicked breaths refused to even out.

"Calm down, Tsuna," he heard Yamamoto say from next to him. Wild brown eyes snapped up to meet amber, looking into those reassuring eyes of one of his best friends. Yamamoto grabbed one of Tsuna's hands, guiding it to the baseball player's chest. Tsuna used that, trying to time his breaths to the slow rise and fall of the rain flame user's.

Eventually, Tsuna's breathing slowed, the panic and tension fading, and the brunet found himself surrounded by his kneeling friends and tutor. He was on his back, but as soon made to sit up, his tutor pushed him back down with a frustrated growl, sun flames still surrounding the hands splayed against Tsuna's ribcage. The brunet could tell by Reborn's furrowed brow—the hitman must have been really distracted to let any emotion take over his usual mask of emotionlessness—that he was having trouble healing the broken ribs, just like he did in the future.

"Reborn, it won't work," Tsuna finally said, pushing away the offending hands and sitting up against the cool metal of the elevator wall. Reborn's face was blank again but his eyes held frustration and anger that Tsuna knew stemmed from his failure to heal. Reborn didn't tolerate failure. He was a hitman, and to him, failure wasn't an option.

"How long?" Tsuna asked, staring blankly at the floor.

"Fifty-two seconds," Gokudera quietly informed him.

As surprised as he was that it hadn't been longer, Tsuna didn't question it further. The less time he spent thinking about his uselessness the better.

"Hey," Gokudera said, worry scrunching up his brow. "Maybe you should rest a little longer. We can take you to the infirmary to get you checked out."

Tsuna shook his head. The pain in his ribs was gone like it had never been there in the first place. Tsuna knew that he should be somewhat affected by broken and fractured ribs, but the fact was, he just wasn't. It might twinge painfully whenever he turned too fast or moved too quickly, but the pain never lasted longer than a few seconds.

"I'm fine," Tsuna insisted, pulling himself to his feet. Reborn and his guardians followed suit. Reborn turned back to the panel and slammed a fist into a green button. Instantly the elevator lurched and Tsuna could hear the mechanics begin to whir. They must have stopped the elevator when Tsuna had collapsed, Tsuna assumed, unsure why he was troubled by that fact.

The rest of the ride to the seventeenth floor was hushed. No one spoke more than a few words before falling quiet again. Tsuna tapped his fingers against his pant leg agitatedly. The silence was driving him crazy and it was taking forever to get there. The group had to have been riding in the elevator—at least, while it was moving—for a good while. It seemed to be taking forever, although he could just chalk it up to his wanting to get out of the stuffy contraption and away from the tense atmosphere.

Finally, the doors whooshed open and Tsuna was met with a sight similar to the hallway they had just left, the only difference being the lack of people and the sparse amount of doors, each at least a good fifty or so feet from the last. Above each door was either a green or a red light, probably to signify occupation.

"Where are we?" Tsuna asked, peering at the boring hallway in bemusement. It looked like this wasn't going to be anything like the base ten years into the future.

"The training rooms," Yamamoto said. "The seventeenth floor is reserved for training new recruits in using Dying Will Flames."

"What do the lights mean?"

"Red means occupied," Yamamoto explained, proving Tsuna's guess right. "If a training room has a green light above it, then it means no one is in there. Though, if you see a yellow light, call Reborn or one of the other guardians for help."

"Why? What does it mean?" Tsuna asked, automatically searching for a door with a yellow light. Seeing none, he turned puzzled chocolate orbs to gaze at Yamamoto's warning amber ones.

"Our training rooms have sensors, and if someone is seriously injured in one, it will immediately set off an alarm and the light will turn yellow."

Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise, looking at the doors with new eyes. "Really? Who came up with that?"

"The Tenth did, of course!" Gokudera said, for some reason slipping back into the excited persona of a proud right hand man. Tsuna smiled at the familiarity of the statement. "The Tenth was the one who helped Giannini, Irie, and Spanner design this place!"

"That's enough," Reborn commanded, and when Tsuna caught the obsidian gaze, he winced. Reborn had still not completely forgotten about the elevator incident like Yamamoto and Gokudera had seemed to. Fury still blazed blatantly and Tsuna knew that he was in for a rough beating later on.

The group stopped at the third door on the right. Tsuna noted the red light glaring at them from above, but Reborn didn't hesitate to step through the door of the supposedly occupied room. Gokudera and Yamamoto followed the hitman and Tsuna hesitantly trailed after, hoping he was not going to regret this.

He was immediately met with the sight of Hibari whacking a blond kid across the face with a steel tonfa. Tsuna winced in sympathy as the boy crashed into the wall, leaving a large person-shaped hole in the plaster. Next to Tsuna, Gokudera sighed in defeat while Yamamoto's carefree laughter rang throughout the room.

"Hibari is lively today," Yamamoto said, taking in the scene fondly.

Tsuna guessed that this was an everyday occurrence that his guardians were used to seeing. The brunet, however, had spent days being thrown around by Hibari in the future, so he could only sympathize with the two trainees as they were thrown around like rag dolls.

Gokudera huffed, throwing Yamamoto an annoyed glance. "You _do_ know why we're here, right?"

Yamamoto just shrugged, laughing as he flashed that cheerful smile in Gokudera's direction. Tsuna sighed and tuned his guardians out, too used to the banter to keep listening.

"Hey, Reborn," Tsuna called softly. Yes, he was afraid of the hitman, but the man was still his tutor, adult form or not. He waited patiently for Reborn to glance at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"What do you want, Dame-Tsuna?"

Tsuna gazed uneasily at Hibari's training session, watching as one of trainees almost burst into tears when they weren't able to light their Dying Will Flames. The dark-haired boy slumped in defeat, but Hibari was too busy trying to bite the other one to death to notice. Tsuna frowned, but didn't move closer, knowing it wasn't his place to interfere.

"You said you took care of the problem," Tsuna said, still watching the defeated looking trainee. "But what was the problem in the first place?"

Reborn, even though he still looked troubled, smirked, mischief dancing in those obsidian orbs. "Hibari likes to take things too far with the new recruits and sometimes gets a little rough with them. I got a report today that one of the trainees was getting too rowdy and Hibari got pissed off enough to bite him to death."

"And is that him?" Tsuna asked, pointing at the blond one who was doing their best to duck and dodge Hibari's tonfa, smiling all the while. "The rowdy one?"

Reborn nodded. "That's him. And if you don't stop Hibari, that little trainee might not live to see his next birthday."

Tsuna groaned. Of course Reborn had been planning to make Tsuna solve the problem. Reborn made Tsuna do everything in the guise of training. Tsuna mentally snorted. Even mundane tasks like walking to school became overly complicated when Reborn got involved. Tsuna somehow always managed to find himself injured or in trouble.

"I thought you said _you_ took care of it," Tsuna stressed, not liking this situation one bit.

"No," Reborn said, signature smirk still prominent on his Italian features. "I said the problem was being taken care of. That means _you_," Reborn yanked Tsuna by his collar and flung him towards Hibari and the trainees, "have to stop Hibari from killing _your_ subordinates."

Tsuna barely caught himself before he could land flat on his face and embarrass himself in front of the occupants in the training room. Tsuna glanced up and noticed that he had caught the attention of everyone in the room and they were now staring at him with varying emotions. Reborn in amusement, Yamamoto cheerfully, Gokudera in concern, the trainees in wonder, and Hibari in anger. Tsuna paled and took a step backwards as he watched Hibari's mood shifted from anger to rage.

"What do you want?" Hibari asked.

"U-Um, Hibari-"

Tsuna ducked as a tonfa passed over his head, barely managing to suppress a squeak of surprise. The brunet rolled away, managing to buy some time so he could pull his gloves and pills from his pockets. He pulled the blue and white mittens out and shook out two pills, relieved that he hadn't left his only means of attack in the past—or the future, if one wanted to get technical.

"Hibari-san, wait!"

The tonfa came down at him with even more force. Tsuna jumped over one swipe that Hibari aimed at his legs in an attempt to trip him. He stepped backwards a few steps and closed his eyes, gaining a few precious moments of time to swallow the blue pills.

Tsuna opened his eyes to a world of flames. In his Hyper Dying Will state, internal as well as external limiters were removed enough that Tsuna could only marvel at how much more clearly he could see and assess things. His Hyper Intuition worked overtime to track Hibari's movements, anticipating what he would do before he actually did it.

"Where's the omnivore?" Hibari hissed, swinging a tonfa at Tsuna's head. The brunet ducked, seeing the tensing of Hibari's muscle and sensing the swing before the skylark could even move. That was one part of his Hyper Intuition he would always appreciate.

"_Omnivore?!_"

Apparently Hibari didn't like that answer, for he came at Tsuna from above, descending down upon the brunet with all the fury of a blood thirsty lion. Tsuna rolled away, leaping up into the air and over Hibari's next strike.

"He's talking about you, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn called, smirk still prominent on his sharp features. Tsuna stared at the hitman for a moment, orange eyes wide at the implications. _Him_? An _omnivore?_ But that would mean that Hibari recognized the other Tsuna as someone who was considerably strong, and after constantly being beat down by a Hibari—granted, it was a future version—who only fought at half power, Tsuna seriously doubted that he was strong enough to be considered an _omnivore_.

He didn't dwell on the matter much longer, a steel tonfa interrupting his thoughts. Hibari aimed at his stomach, and when Tsuna stepped backwards to dodge, Hibari twirled into his guard, striking downwards with both tonfa. Tsuna cursed himself at his carelessness, realizing he had no room to make a move. Hibari was too close to him for Tsuna to do anything but attempt to grab the skylark's weapons.

It was a painful impact that jarred his arms all the way up to his shoulders, even while wearing his gloves. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, unable to feel much more than tingling in his appendages, but he wrestled with the temptation to engulf his gloves in Dying Will flames. As much as it would help, this was only hand to hand combat, Hibari proving that himself by not using his cloud flames.

Hibari didn't give Tsuna time to recover, instantly pulling the weapons from out of Tsuna's loosened grip just to swing back at his head. Tsuna gritted his teeth as he ducked, feeling more than seeing the tonfa sweep over his head. Tsuna spun around, copying Hibari's movement from earlier and getting under the skylark's guard as soon as he was halfway turned. With Hibari's tonfa still in the air, Tsuna completed the turn, slamming an elbow into Hibari's half guarded stomach and making his first offensive move of the fight.

The skylark hunched over himself slightly and stepped back, glaring at Tsuna with steel gray eyes. Tsuna didn't move, his arms still struggling to regain feeling and get the blood flowing right.

"Where is the omnivore and why are you here, herbivore?"

Tsuna ignored the gasps from the trainees, instead gazing at Hibari with calm, orange eyes. He didn't dare release Hyper Dying Will mode now. If he did, he'd probably collapse from the pain that wracked his body, and then he'd have to face Hibari's wrath while being unable to fight.

"I can't tell you," Tsuna murmured, very aware of the ears that were listening to this conversation. That didn't seem to deter Hibari, though.

"Tell me," Hibari hissed, his eyes blazing. "I don't like herbivores that refuse me, and if you don't tell me, I will bite you to death."

"Hibari, I can't tell you. If you want to know, it'll have to wait," Tsuna said, trying to placate the skylark some.

"I don't like waiting."

Tsuna internally groaned. If Hibari was going to keep asking, Tsuna didn't know what he would do. His confidence was diminishing as he slowly started to fade out of Hyper Dying Will mode. Orange flickered as he struggled to keep the mode from slipping through his fingers.

_A boss can't lose face_, Reborn would say. _He wouldn't leave something unfinished because it was too hard. As a boss, he would do it with his Dying Will._ Tsuna mentally snorted. What the hell kind of advice was that anyways? All his mental version of Reborn was saying was "Come up with something quickly and act confident about it because a boss can't storm out of the room or throw a tantrum. You have to finish what you started." How was that any help at all?

"They don't speak Japanese, Tsuna," Yamamoto called to him, waving a hand to the brunet. Tsuna sighed as he glared at his relaxed tutor. Well, at least someone was helping him make his decisions.

"I came here from the fight ten- no, eight years in the future," Tsuna revealed, his eyes flickering from orange to brown and back. His body was protesting his actions. "I'm guessing something went wrong with Shoichi-kun's invention. I-It sent me to the past, but I was almost immediately transported here."

Hibari looked at Tsuna with penetrating gray eyes before the skylark turned away indifferently, heading for the door.

"Wait, Hibari! Where are you going, you damn prefect?! You still have to train the new recruits!" Gokudera yelled, scowling at the skylark. Hibari didn't say anything as Gokudera trailed after him, yelling at him to "step up, you bastard" and "take this training seriously" even as the door clicked shut, leaving Tsuna, Reborn, Yamamoto, and the trainees behind.

Tsuna exhaled slowly, dropping down to one knee as his Dying Will Mode threatened to slip from his grasp. It wouldn't, if he had anything to say about it, not with the trainees still in the room. Reborn had told him to act capable in front of them, so that's what he would do.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto yelled worriedly, running over to kneel next to the exhausted teen. "What's wrong? Is it your ribs?" Tsuna shook his head, flame flickering dangerously.

"You better knock it off before I decide to shoot you. You've already proved yourself by standing up to Hibari and not tripping over your own feet, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, rare venom lacing his words. Tsuna winced but complied, wondering how Reborn always managed to read his mind.

Orange faded to brown as the flame on his forehead flickered into nothing. He caught himself on shaky arms before he could fall into Yamamoto's arms. He'd already had enough of being carried for the time being, ears burning as he remembered how Gokudera had held him last night. Tsuna could do without passing out, too, as he had had enough of that as well.

"Did you sleep last night?" Reborn asked. "Eat anything?"

Tsuna shook his head, chocolate brown eyes blinking tiredly at the hitman standing next to him. Reborn sighed and wrapped a large hand around the brunet's small arm to pull him to shaky feet.

"Come on then. We'll stop by the infirmary to check out those ribs, too."

And with that, Yamamoto and Reborn carefully led Tsuna out of the training room, leaving behind two bewildered trainees who didn't understand a single word of Japanese.

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**Like I said before, the third chapter should be up before the end of the month, so keep an eye out! Let me know what you thought**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! So, for you who read _Into the Light_, I'm sorry for not getting this up yesterday. My family left right after the wedding but I didn't remember until this morning that I promised to post this. So...yeah. My bad. Anyways, this chapter has a little more insight into Tsuna's mind about his situation-although most of the story has this, I feel like this chapter has one of the most important pieces of the puzzle in it. **

**Thanks to _tofldh _and _Spiral Reflection_ for reviewing!**

* * *

Tsuna wasn't a stranger to hospitals. He had been a frequent visitor for as long as he could remember, what with the bullies beating him up coupled with his own clumsiness. He didn't feel comfortable as he struggled to keep himself upright entering the infirmary, but his surroundings were familiar enough that Tsuna didn't bother looking around like he had with every other part of the base. It looked like a generic hospital room—white walls, medical equipment, medicine, lumpy bed. It all fit.

Plus, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Tsuna collapsed onto the lumpy infirmary bed as soon as he got close enough, hoping that Reborn and Yamamoto weren't going to say anything so he could surrender to the heaviness that dragged his eyelids down. He wanted to _sleep_.

"If you even think about sleeping before Ryohei takes a look at you, I will drag you back to those training rooms by the collar, string you up by your feet, and make you recite all 118 elements of the periodic table in order, including their atomic number, their mass, how many neutrons are in each element's nucleus, and every single one of their ions. And if you get even one wrong, I _will_ shoot you."

Tsuna shivered and pushed himself up on trembling arms, knowing that Reborn wouldn't hesitate to carry out his threat. He sat up to face a seething Reborn and a sympathetic looking Yamamoto. Tsuna sent a shaky smile towards the both of them. It might have been useless in reassuring them, but he hoped to at least prove to Reborn that he was still alive and kicking.

Inside, Tsuna was cursing himself in every language he knew—which was really just one (but it could be three, if you counted the five words he knew of English and Italian combined). He had been too careless. Tsuna hadn't given any thought to his wellbeing and he was paying for it dearly.

The fight against Byakuran had left Tsuna's mind reeling for hours afterwards. His brain had been muddled with uncertainty—not to mention he was left absolutely drained—to the point where he could barely move. His mind couldn't handle the physical and mental exhaustion that had hit him like a brick in the aftermath.

The physical fatigue was the worst, though. Primo may have released the Vongola Rings' true power, but Tsuna wasn't the least bit used to the tremendous exhaustion that came with it. He had been forced to level up quickly in the future, but it had been during training. The power and purity of the flames he had emitted was beyond what Tsuna could handle for more than a few moments, and he knew it.

Even slipping briefly into Hyper Dying Will mode to spar with Hibari left Tsuna gasping for breath afterwards. Now that he was past all of the fighting, the sheer force of the power Tsuna was somehow supposed to handle left the brunet wary. Being unaccustomed to the flame's power, Tsuna wasn't going to be able to use his full strength in battle unless he found some way to slowly acclimate to the strength of the ring.

"SAWADA!"

The door to the infirmary slammed open, jolting Tsuna out of his musings as the startled boy turned towards the entrance. A young man stood there, maybe eighteen or nineteen, panting with exertion, looking as if he just ran to Japan and back.

"O-Onii-san?" Tsuna asked bewilderedly.

Ryohei's bleach white hair was longer than Tsuna last remembered, but was still cropped rather short. A white bandage was taped onto the bridge of his nose and he was clad in something Tsuna would never have thought he would ever see the younger Ryohei wearing: a suit.

"Sawada!" Ryohei yelled, running over to Tsuna's side, and as many emotions seemed to cross over his features, relief dominated when he looked the brunet up and down and found no fatal injuries upon the boy. Ryohei's features crumpled instantly, his brow furrowing in worry as he took a second survey of Tsuna's exhausted form. Tsuna yelped when he found himself being crushed by the comforting arms of Kyoko's older brother. He winced as pain flared in his side, prohibiting him from taking anything but shallow breaths.

"O-Onii-san!" Tsuna wheezed. "I-I can't b-breathe."

Ryohei let him go, stepping back without looking the least bit guilty. The boxer clamped a taped hand on to Tsuna's shoulder, startling the brunet once more. "Sawada! I'm extremely glad you're okay! When I saw Octopus Head and Hibari in the hallway and they told me you were hurt, I came as fast as I could!"

Tsuna sighed at Ryohei's loud volume, but sent the boxer a small smile anyways. "I'm fine, Onii-san. I'm just-" Tsuna said, stopping when Reborn pointedly glared at him. Groaning, but not wanting to be subject to a Reborn style torture session, Tsuna started again. "My ribs were broken a while ago," he said, but gave the boxer a reassuring smile, "b-but they don't really seem to hurt all that much!"

"Broken?" Ryohei asked, a small frown pulling the corners of his lips down. Tsuna thanked every god he knew of that the boxer had quieted down to some sort of a normal volume. "I extremely don't remember that happening!"

Behind Ryohei, Yamamoto laughed, clapping the boxer on the back. "Wow, Ryohei! You're still so weird. Even I noticed that this wasn't our Tsuna when I first saw him!"

"What do you mean Yamamoto?! Of course this is Sawada!" Ryohei barked out, completely clueless as per usual. The boxer pulled a drawer on the table beside the hospital bed open and hefted out a pristine first aid kit. The box opened with a click and Tsuna couldn't help but pale at all of the medical supplies packed inside the unused kit. He hoped that he wasn't going to need that scalpel because Tsuna would rather face a bloodthirsty Hibari than be subjected to the terror of that wickedly sharp surgical knife.

"You're always so funny, Ryohei!" Yamamoto said, not even fazed by the fact that the boxer had no idea what was going on. "I guess you're right. Tsuna is Tsuna."

"Of course I'm extremely right!" Ryohei exclaimed, pulling out what looked to be a bottle of pills. "Sawada is Sawada and he needs some extreme treatment!"

Tsuna could only look on in exasperation at the two. What the heck were they even talking about? Were they talking about treating him or the fact that he wasn't his future self?

Reborn muttered something under his breath as he made his way to Tsuna's bedside, completely ignoring the two guardians. He looked the exhausted brunet over with a critical eye before turning the full force of his glare at the teen. Tsuna flinched, still unused to the hitman in this adult form. The glare lessened by a fraction but the glower still remained fixed on him.

"Take off your shirt," the hitman ordered.

"What?" Tsuna asked. "Why? Hibari didn't- Oh."

Reborn's scowl dropped, his face going blank as he tugged at the blue fabric. "I know he didn't hurt you. Now take it off."

Tsuna sighed and did as he was told, blinking as he looked down at his ribcage. Reborn's sun flames—Tsuna figured they must be strong enough to heal even bones in this form—had erased the marks to a point, but the bruises were far from gone. Tsuna squirmed uncomfortably as he looked up, finding Ryohei and Yamamoto frowning at his bare chest.

Ryohei was the first to move, immediately sweeping in to take a closer look at the injuries. He was surprisingly quiet as he poked and prodded the bruises. Tsuna flinched as a finger brushed against a particularly tender spot.

"My guess is that it was extreme asphyxiation," Ryohei muttered, lightly running his fingers over the offending splotches of black and blue. "What happened to you, Tsuna?"

Tsuna hesitated, for once not liking the informality of his name. Was it so bad that he wanted things to remain normal? The brunet looked Ryohei straight in the eyes, summoning up as much courage as he could manage before he began to speak.

"Do you remember that time I fought Byakuran and he used that weird hand to strangle me?" Ryohei nodded, still strangely soft spoken, so Tsuna continued. "He broke a couple of my ribs when I asphyxiated. He went too far with it and I ended up with some fractured and broken ribs in the process."

"What does that have to do with this?" Ryohei asked, gesturing to the rainbow of bruises that plastered Tsuna's ribcage.

Tsuna averted his eyes from Ryohei's, gaze wandering to Yamamoto's hardened amber ones instead. Tsuna shivered and turned his brown eyes to his feet, which seemed to be the only safe place in the room.

"It's...I'm not...I'm not exactly from this time," Tsuna whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "It's hard to explain since I'm not too sure what happened myself, but I was just about to go talk to my mom after that final battle with Byakuran. I was going to talk to her, but I just couldn't. The kids were crying in her arms, she was trying to do laundry, and she had no idea about anything. I didn't know how to say anything...How to explain why I was beat up and...just different..."

"Tsuna," Reborn warned.

Tsuna took a deep breath. He was rambling. He _knew_ he was rambling. But the thought of his mother sent a pang longing through his heart. She was the one he had missed the most while stuck in that horrible future where the weight of the entire world—even _other _worlds—rode upon his small shoulders.

"Sawada," Ryohei said, interrupting before Tsuna could speak again. Tsuna's lips formed a small, dissatisfied grimace. The boxer just smiled reassuringly at him. "You're extremely injured. You should rest and let me take a look at those extreme bruises."

Tsuna faltered before letting out a resigned sigh. He sat back, leaning against the stacked pillows on the lumpy hospital bed and allowing Ryohei to shove a pill into his mouth. Swallowing the medicine dry, Tsuna watched as the boxer's smile vanished when Ryohei turned his face to the brunet's torso. Tsuna waited patiently as the boxer pondered his next course of action.

It didn't take long. Ryohei went to work immediately. His upturned palms shone bright with yellow sun flames before the warmth was pressed against the brunet's chest. Tsuna idly wondered when Ryohei had learned to activate his flames without his ring, seeing as he wasn't wearing it. Actually, now that he thought about it, Yamamoto and Hibari hadn't been wearing theirs either.

Tsuna didn't let his mind stay focused on that thought, though. He was exhausted and his mind was refusing to work, leaving him unable to think straight. Trying to figure anything out while he was so worn out would probably counterproductive, as his brain would lead him in nothing but circles.

Drained, but enjoying the feeling of Ryohei's sun flames, Tsuna let his shoulders sag, finally relaxing into the pillows propping him up. He let his eyes flutter close, content with this warm, tranquilizing feeling flowing through his veins.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna hummed, a foggy haze settling over his exhausted brain. He blinked lethargically at the smiling boxer, not understanding what was going on. His gaze moved lazily from Ryohei to Yamamoto before it settled on Reborn.

The hitman wasn't actually smiling like the other two—it was really more of a smirk—but the man still set Tsuna's mind at ease anyways. His last memory before drifting was of Reborn laying his hand on top of Tsuna's spiky brown locks, ruffling his hair like Tsuna imagined only a father would do.

"_Sleep, Dame-Tsuna."_

* * *

"_STOP IT!_"

Tsuna lurched up, out of breath and drenched in sweat. His gaze darted around the darkened infirmary frantically, panicked eyes looking for the _bloodbodiesdead_ that weren't there. Trembling, the boy clutched at the blankets of his bed, trying to ground himself to something other than the murderous aura he had felt in the depths of his subconscious. He choked, still very much within the throws of the nightmares fueled by his own fear.

He exhaled in a rush, but when he tried to inhale, the air caught in his throat and he choked again. Shaking hands came to clutch at his ribs, his rational side begging, pleading for his body to cooperate. To calm down.

But something inside him wasn't satisfied. Warning bells were going off in his head and this time he couldn't ignore it. _Blood of Vongola_, Reborn would say. _Trust that Hyper Intuition of yours._

The only thing was, he didn't know what it was he was supposed to be scared of. Panicked brown orbs surveyed the room again, but found nothing. There was nothing here. It wasn't here that Tsuna needed to be worried about. Here, he was safe, no matter if it felt like spiders were crawling up and down his skin, underneath his pajamas.

_Something's coming_.

That was it, he thought. Something was coming. What, he didn't know, but he knew that whatever it was, he wasn't going to like it.

Feeling himself start to calm down, Tsuna focused more on his breathing in an attempt to staunch the fear that had taken him hostage. This was something he needed to think rationally about, and he couldn't do that when he was so overtaken by fear that he couldn't even think straight.

"Calm down," he whispered to himself, clutching at his spiky locks.

He took another gulp of air. Feeling the oxygen fill his lungs, Tsuna let it out slowly, careful not to make himself choke again.

This constant feeling of being out place in time was messing with his head. He was seeing things that weren't there, dreaming of ominous auras that came to murder him, his friends, and his family in the middle of the night, and predicting things that he wasn't all too sure was really coming for him.

_Don't think about that_, he reprimanded himself. _Think about something else_.

Tsuna pulled the covers over his head, opting to think back to how all of this started instead of how he was slowly going insane.

First he woke up in the arms of his Storm Guardian, only to find that he had managed to get transported from ten years in the future to two years in the future. And then he found out they were at war.

To think, Tsuna was going to be leading an army against enemy Mafioso in two years. It was completely unfathomable. Tsuna wasn't a leader. He _hated_ having to lead his friends around like they were pieces on a chessboard. They were his _friends_, not his _pawns_.

And besides, Tsuna didn't want to become a mafia boss. He didn't want a title that sent fear shivering down his enemies' spines. In fact, he didn't want enemies_ at all_. He was just too soft-hearted for the life of the mafia. He could never be someone who smiled at someone and then turned around to murder their family. He wasn't fit for this life.

All his life he had been pushed to the ground for being less than average by people who looked down on him, but never once could he think about doing something so evil as hating them. Sometimes people did things to make themselves feel better, no matter how it made others feel. Like the classmates who used to beat down on him. Tsuna didn't blame his former bullies in the least. It wasn't their fault they were hurting and needed some way to feel better about themselves, even if their execution was wrong.

And then Tsuna was forced to face Mukuro, a boy who had been bent and twisted by the Mafioso family that had experimented on him. And Tsuna couldn't really blame him, either. He could only try and sympathize with a boy who held so much hurt in him that he lashed out and became something no one wanted. Tsuna could only try his best to understand him, too.

It may not have been during the best of circumstances—and really, whenever was it?—but Xanxus had crawled his way into Tsuna's heart, too, if only for their similarities relating their fathers. Xanxus's story was a sad one, but it made Tsuna's heart flutter with a familiar anguish as he was forced to recall his own life, devoid of a father. He couldn't blame Xanxus for hurting.

And even with Byakuran, Tsuna could not find fault with his insanity. After years of being aware of parallel versions of himself constantly being born or dying, Byakuran would have to be a god not to have gone off the deep end. Tsuna couldn't even imagine having to deal with that—having his ancestors appear randomly was enough as it was. So, as much as he resented Byakuran's actions, Tsuna couldn't blame the white-haired man for his insanity. And even if the man hadn't ever been an ally, Tsuna couldn't help but think if things had been different, they could have been friends.

And now Tsuna was waist deep in a war he knew nothing about. But that didn't make the thought any less scary. Tsuna was supposed to be leading people in _battle_. He was the leader of an army against nondescript enemies, and though that should have made Tsuna feel better about confronting them—if you didn't know them, they were easier to defeat, right?—he could only dread having to face them.

These were people he had no clue about it. He had no idea why they were even at war with them, but he knew that this wasn't just some turf war. This was a war full of armies and battles. It was like nothing Tsuna had ever known_._

That thought made Tsuna feel so much worse. He knew nothing about these people, and yet, there were automatically his enemies. During every other battle he had fought in, Tsuna had had a chance to understand _why_. He had the chance to understand their actions and the part. This? This was just killing someone else before they came to kill him. This was _war._

It was disconcerting to keep up with his raging thoughts. It seemed like a vivid nightmare the way things were playing out, and Tsuna couldn't help but find himself in much of the same position he had been during that first night ten years in the future. Hiding under the covers and praying to _someone_ out there to take pity on him and send him back to his original time before things could go to hell was really the only option he had at this point. Well, it was either that or accept his new reality straight-faced and help the Vongola win a war he was terrified to participate in.

Tsuna sighed, clutching the covers tighter. This was just too much to handle. He wasn't strong enough to be able to face something so improbable head on. At least he had had Gokudera—_his_ Gokudera—and Reborn with him before. Now? Now he had no one to rely on. He was the only one from the present and he was stuck in the future by himself with everyone's older selves—and while they were familiar and somewhat comforting, they just didn't act the same. Tsuna didn't know these future guardians that well and it made him feel lonely.

"Tsuna," someone whispered into the darkness of the infirmary.

Tsuna sat up suddenly, tugging the covers off of his head. He scanned the darkened room but found no other person. Discounting the call as a part of his overactive imagination, Tsuna warily lied back down, pulling the blankets up to his chin and closing his eyes. He was probably still freaked out because of that dream.

"Tsuna!" the voice called out again, this time closer and with more urgency.

Tsuna squeezed his eyes tighter, clenching the blankets with a death grip. It wasn't real. There wasn't anybody there. He was just panicking again. The nightmare was just trying to sneak back up on him while he was caught unaware.

"Tsu-"

Tsuna jerked up with a yell when he felt something grab his shoulder. Panting and veins pumping with adrenaline, the brunet stood on top of his mattress, glancing down at the white tiled floor below in trepidation. His heart pounded in his ears as he scanned the room for anything suspicious only to skip a beat when he caught wide green eyes gazing back at him at his bedside.

He put his hands over his ears and leapt off the bed, tumbling to the floor. Still on an adrenaline high, Tsuna simply rolled to avoid injury, jumping back to his feet as soon as he could. He backed away from the bed, back hitting the cabinet behind him and hip bumping into a cart, causing something to fall to the ground with a loud crash.

Tsuna winced but didn't let his thoughts linger too long on that. He was struggling to pull oxygen into his lungs and locking eyes with those wide glinting, green eyes were not helping in the least.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?!"

The lights flickered on and Tsuna blinked, eyes snapping to an alert Gokudera and Yamamoto standing in the doorway. Both had their weapons brandished—Yamamoto, his sword and Gokudera, his dynamites—and at the ready.

"G-Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, breathing still shallow and fast-paced. "Y-Yama...moto."

All eyes turned to the trembling brunet and something within both guardians' seemed to click as they rushed over to their panicked boss.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto asked, setting his sword to the side. Tsuna's eyes followed the sword warily, not liking that Yamamoto had dropped the weapon when there was something in here with them, even if a sword wouldn't do much against a figment of his imagination. Gokudera trailed after the baseball player, looking around the room.

The bomber zeroed in on something near Tsuna's bed and Tsuna's quivering increased. He couldn't see past Yamamoto, but if Gokudera had seen what was supposed to be a creature made up from Tsuna's overactive imagination, that could only mean one thing. He hadn't been imagining it.

Tsuna paled. He really wished Yamamoto would pick up the sword now.

"Oi! What the hell are you _doing_? It's two in the morning!" Gokudera yelled at the figure sitting next to Tsuna's bed. Yamamoto shifted, turning away from Tsuna to gaze at the offending figure Gokudera had approached. Tsuna's heart squeezed as Gokudera put away his dynamite, but it wasn't until he actually caught sight of exactly what—_who—_ was sprawled out on the floor beside his bed.

Letting out a shaky breath, Tsuna let his back slide down against the cabinet, his legs refusing to hold him up anymore. He brought his knees to his chin and covered his face with his hands. He was so _stupid_. So, so stupid.

"Well?" Tsuna heard Gokudera growl, noting that the bomber seemed back to his grouchy self. "Are you going to answer me or stare at me like I killed your mother?"

There was silence. No one said a word. Tsuna peeked out from between his fingers, feeling shame and guilt threatening to spill over into tears. Watery brown eyes caught encouraging amber before the baseball player pulled Tsuna's slender fingers from his flushed face.

Tsuna's lip trembled as tears pricked his eyes. He rubbed frantically at his eyes with a shaking fist, unsure of his own emotions.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said quietly, a pitying look washing away his earlier encouraging one. "Are you alright?"

Nodding, Tsuna let out another shuddering exhale, unable to form any words as he choked on his tears.

"I..."

Tsuna froze, looking over Yamamoto's shoulder at the figure beside the bed. The figure—the _boy_, Tsuna corrected himself—looked up at Gokudera with unnerved green eyes and Tsuna couldn't help the fresh wave of guilt that washed over him.

"I...I heard Tsuna yell, and I thought someone was attacking the base," the boy admitted.

Gokudera hit him on top of the head. Tsuna didn't say anything. He didn't reprimand the bomber nor did he stop the words that seemed to flow from the angry teen's mouth. He couldn't. He was too busy trying to stop himself from freaking out.

Because in front of Gokudera sat a boy of about eight or nine with curly black-hair, dressed in cow print pajamas and all Tsuna could think about was the reality slamming itself down upon his shoulders. He could deny it before with his guardians, because they hadn't looked that much different, but now...

He had been scared of Lambo.

"Why would you come straight here—_where an enemy could be attacking_—when your room is right next to the sword freak's?! You could have gotten Yamamoto instead of charging in here blind by yourself!"

"But Tsuna might have been in trouble!" Lambo protested, slamming a fist into the ground.

"And what were you going to do about it if he was?!" Gokudera fumed, jabbing a finger at the boy. Tsuna could only watch the argument with wide eyes, even as Yamamoto helped him to his feet. "He's more capable then you are and coming here would have put the both of you in danger!"

"I would have helped him!"

"By getting yourself killed!" Gokudera countered. "You know you can't fight off an assassin who could infiltrate the base. You _know_, Lambo! Why in the _hell_ would you do something so reckless?!"

Tears pooled in Lambo's eyes and Tsuna felt his heart clench with guilt again. The brunet walked forward on numb feet before he rushed over to where Lambo was sitting, dropping to his knees and engulfing the cow clad boy in a tight embrace.

"I'm _so_ sorry," Tsuna whispered softly into the boy's ear. "I'm so _sorry_."

"Tsuna...?" Lambo said uncertainly, arms raised half way, as if he were going to hug the brunet back but was unsure about his actions.

Tsuna just held the boy tighter to himself, tears blurring his vision of the room. He couldn't see Yamamoto and Gokudera behind him, so he couldn't guess why they were silent, but Tsuna didn't let himself focus on them. He fixated on the boy in his arms, a tearful smile pulling up the corners of his lips when Lambo's arms wrapped around him. He may have been older, but this was Lambo. This was his little brother he would stop the world for.

"L-Lambo," Tsuna sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm so, so _sorry_. I...I didn't mean to...to scare you."

Lambo nuzzled his head into the crook of Tsuna's neck. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you."

Lambo owning up to his mistakes? Maybe this wasn't Lambo.

"Tch," Tsuna heard Gokudera click his tongue in annoyance, although it sounded more fond than annoyed. "You better learn not to do this again, you stupid cow."

Lambo's head shot up, glaring at the bomber over Tsuna's shoulder. "Shut up Octopus head! Lambo-san doesn't have to listen to the likes of you! Right Tsuna?"

A laugh escaped Tsuna's lips. Tsuna just hid his face in Lambo's curly hair, glad that the boy didn't still have that physics defying afro. Tears still escaped the brunet, but his sobs had stopped. He wasn't sure if it was the relief or the tears or what, but he was suddenly feeling exhausted. He just wanted to stay like this forever.

"Tsuna?" A finger prodded Tsuna's cheek and Lambo pulled away from the sniffling brunet. Tsuna just dried his cheeks with a shirt sleeve and gave the boy a tired, but bright, smile, hoping that Lambo could see the see the happiness he was trying to convey.

"Are you alright now, Lambo?" Tsuna asked.

"Am _I_ alright?!" Lambo exclaimed incredulously. "_You're _the one who was freaking out when I called out to you!"

Tsuna shuddered, blood and death filling his vision before he could stop it. He let his arms wrap around his shoulders, shivering again. His nightmare had been something else entirely, full of mountains of bodies throwing themselves in front of him to protect their precious boss before the dead were burned to ashes by enemy flames. That's when the darkness had surrounded and his Hyper Intuition warned him that _something was coming_-

A hand dropped on to Tsuna's shoulder, startling him out of his delusions. Yamamoto knelt in front of him, a concerned frown replacing his usually cheerful smile.

"You okay there, Tsuna?" the baseball player asked. "You started to drift off for a minute."

Tsuna shook his head, trying to rid himself of the stupid nightmare and the fear that was brought along with it. "No. Yeah. I'm fine. I was...I just had a bad dream, I think. I was still kind of freaking out from the nightmare I was having and I thought Lambo was somebody else."

Gokudera sighed, arms crossed in front of his chest as he looked down at his friends on the floor. The bomber stared at each person in scrutiny before green eyes landed on Tsuna.

"Are you alright? We heard a crash," Gokudera said, his voice a little flat.

Tsuna nodded, a little wary at the distance the bomber was putting between the two of them. Wasn't the teen supposed to be all up in his personal space? Not standing ten feet away like Tsuna held some sort of plague?

"I-I'm fine. I just hit one of the carts."

Gokudera nodded, gaze drifting the metallic objects scattered all over the floor Tsuna now recognized as surgical instruments. Tsuna shuddered. If he had stepped on those, it wouldn't have been pretty. Reborn would have probably hit him.

"Um, Goku-"

"I'll be going then," was all that the bomber said, cutting Tsuna off before the brunet could say anything else. He was gone in seconds, leaving the rest of the room's occupants confused and uneasy.

Silence permeated the air, none of the flame users wanting to break it.

"I guess we should clean this up," Yamamoto finally said as he stood up, helping the other two to their feet as well. "I don't think Ryohei will appreciate it if we leave the infirmary in such a disaster."

Tsuna glanced at the mess he had unintentionally created, mentally berating himself. The bed was a complete disaster. Pillows were strewn around the room—probably kicked away when he had stood up on the bed—and the blankets had been heaped haphazardly at the foot of the bed, laying in an arbitrary pile. Surgical instruments had spilled from the box he had knocked over from the cart, leaving a pile of sharp, pointy objects on the tile that could stab a hole through his foot if he were to accidentally step on one—and he probably would, given his clumsiness.

"I'll get the pillows!" Lambo exclaimed, rushing over to where most of the pillows were and hauling them back onto the bed. The boy rearranged them exactly like Tsuna had had them before, so the brunet would be able to sleep with some support.

"I'll clean up the scalpels," Yamamoto offered, making his way to the cart and bending down to set them back in their proper places within the box.

With nothing to do, Tsuna just stood there dumbly, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. His eyelids drooped as he yawned, realizing that it was still early morning, even if all he did was sleep most of yesterday. If he didn't want to be dead in the morning, he figured he should probably go to sleep.

"Reborn's going to kill us if he finds out about this," Lambo said suddenly. Yamamoto's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the boy's words while Tsuna just sighed in resignation, dragging himself to lie on the bed and pull the blankets up.

"We could try and keep it from him," Yamamoto suggested. "It'll be like a game!"

Tsuna moaned and pulled his blankets over his head. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Reborn! I'm too old for that!"_

But Reborn saw the relieved smile gracing Tsuna's lips when the boy looked up at his mother. Unfortunately, it was the last thing the hitman saw before Tsuna disappeared.

Reborn scowled at the pink smoke that permeated the air around his student, not knowing whether to feel offended at the fact that he let his student disappear under his watch or concerned for the brunet that was still recovering. Under the shadow of his fedora, Reborn watched as Nana, Lambo, and I-pin stopped and stared at the familiar smoke in wonder. Lambo, who should have known what the pink smoke signified after seeing it a hundred times too many, did nothing but laugh.

"Nyahaha! Did Dame-Tsuna explode?!"

"Lambo! Not nice! Tsuna-san could be hurt!" I-pin yelled in her attempt to teach the unteachable cow some semblance of manners. It didn't work, though. It never worked.

Reborn held out his hand and Leon scuttled onto it, quickly morphing into the familiar weight of his green gun. Reborn almost growled in annoyance, but schooled his emotions, keeping a blank face as he lifted the gun and shot two blanks at the ceiling in an effort to quiet the cow. The two kids and Nana went silent.

"Re-Reborn..."

Reborn's obsidian eyes snapped to the dispersing pink smoke, only to widen considerably when he was faced with chocolate brown eyes peeking out from under spiky brunet locks. Tilting his fedora down, Reborn cursed himself for his blatant show of emotion. He was a hitman, for crying out loud. Hitmen didn't show emotion.

Reborn took a closer look at his student, only to grimace when wide, blank chocolate eyes stared right back. This wasn't right. He didn't seem much older, but Reborn could tell that this teenager sitting before him was maybe sixteen or seventeen, and the hitman knew for a fact that Tsuna was only fourteen.

The teen was wearing dark clothing splattered with what Reborn knew to be blood. Nobody else might have noticed, as it didn't stand out well against the black, but Reborn was experienced enough to be very familiar with the substance. He was in the mafia, after all.

It was the boy's eyes, though, that offset the teen's appearance the most. They were tired, world weary eyes that suited an old man better than a sixteen year old boy. They were eyes that had been immersed in much of the cruelty the world had to offer; ones that had seen too much and had done little to stop it. They were guilt and regret ridden.

Reborn didn't like not knowing things. It made him feel useless; too much like a failure. And Reborn didn't tolerate failure. He sought out information and prepared himself to the best of his abilities, determined to never be surprised. It was part of being in the mafia. One constantly had to be a step ahead of everyone around them, hoping they could somehow catch their enemies off guard.

So, when his not-student, definitely not the one from ten years later, at least, suddenly appeared in the place of his student from the present time, Reborn could not help but scowl. He had no idea what was happening and he hated it.

"Reborn," his not-student said again, steadier this time, like he was slowly adjusting himself to the environment around him, assessing his surroundings and raising his guard —something that Reborn had been trying to get Tsuna to learn to do for ages.

But this wasn't Tsuna. This was an older Tsuna from a future where the brunet was immersed in the life of the mafia. Reborn eyed the blood stains carefully.

"Tsuna," Reborn said, attempting to keep the hesitation out of his voice. "Blood doesn't suit you."

The older Tsuna kept his flinch to a minimum, doing what the mafia—what _Reborn_—must have taught him and keeping his emotions schooled until he had the situation figured out. Still, despite how hard it would be for others to catch, Reborn saw the brunet's eyes widen a fraction and his body tense. The hitman caught the barest of flinches, even as Tsuna tried to force his body to relax and not react. It was the training of a mafia Don.

Don't show weakness. Keep a strong front against your enemies. Don't let them have a hold over you.

"It's not mine," Tsuna countered.

Reborn grimaced. "I know."

"Why am I here?" Tsuna said, a frown pulling the corner of his lips down. The brunet looked around the living room, a strange gleam in his brown eyes. Reborn watched as the frown grew deeper. Despite acting tougher and acting more like a mafia boss, Tsuna still hadn't put all of the pieces together. Then again, neither had Reborn, but he was certainly piecing this puzzle together faster than the boy.

"You tell me."

Tsuna's eyes narrowed in suspicion and Reborn resisted the urge to smack the boy over the head. Had Tsuna really become so untrusting that he couldn't even let his guard down around his own tutor?

Finally, Tsuna sighed. "If you're really Reborn and not some ridiculous trick the Argine thought up then you probably already know. Hence the reason I asked."

Reborn mentally snorted. So Tsuna had finally grown a backbone. Who knew behind all that screeching the boy had such a sharp tongue?

"We can discuss why you're here later, when everyone's here. For now, just watch what you say," Reborn warned.

Tsuna said nothing more, choosing instead to blankly stare straight into the hitman's obsidian eyes. Reborn internally sighed, knowing that it was going to take more than an emotionally stunted hitman to get Tsuna to let his guard down. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Reborn saw Lambo, I-pin, and Nana staring at the student and teacher with wide, confused eyes.

"Reborn...-kun?" Nana asked hesitantly, bewildered eyes glancing to Tsuna and back. "What's going on? Why is-"

"Nyahaha! Dame-Tsuna looks so weird!" Lambo interrupted, jumping from Nana's arms to approach the older Tsuna. Reborn watched calmly, interested in how this older Tsuna would deal with the annoying cow.

"Lambo!" I-pin exclaimed, following after the seven year old boy immediately. "Be nice to Tsuna-san!"

Lambo turned away from Tsuna, pulling his eyelid down and sticking his tongue out at I-pin to tease the young assassin. "Nuh-uh! You're not in charge of me, I-pin!"

The cow child jumped onto Tsuna's lap, and even though it was something Lambo would always do, Tsuna stiffened slightly, leaning back as if to get as far away from the seven year old as he could. Reborn sighed as Lambo moved his face closer, Tsuna leaning back as much as he could without being in danger of losing his balance and falling to the floor.

"Arara?" Lambo questioned, his head tilting to the side as he frowned. "Why does Dame-Tsuna look so weird?"

"Lambo," Tsuna finally said, picking the brat up and placing him next to the brunet. "Please, I'm injured and I don't really have time-"

"Tenth!"

All eyes snapped to the front gate where a panting Gokudera, his hands on his knees, looked as if he just ran all the way from Death Mountain. Tsuna's blank orbs widened, a flicker of life sparking at the sight of his self-proclaimed right hand man.

"H-Hayato..." Tsuna said in disbelief, looking the silver-haired teenager over incredulously.

Gokudera froze, looking at Tsuna with wide, uncomprehending eyes. "T-Tenth?! Did you just...call me by my first name?"

Tsuna looked like he had been smacked in between the eyes. Immediately schooling his features and staring at the young bomber with blank eyes. Reborn could only imagine how Tsuna was cursing himself for letting his guard down. It was, after all, natural for one to let their guard down when they thought they could trust someone. Tsuna was no exception.

Reborn peered warily at his charge. Even if he hadn't been training the other Tsuna for almost two years, he still would have easily been able to pick up on the compassion and kind-heartedness the boy practically exuded—despite the idiotic shrieking the boy sometimes executed.

This teen—the Tsuna from a mafia-filled future—had Reborn wondering where the trusting young teen had gone. How had his student been replaced by this sharp-tongued, guarded teenager? Where was the Tsuna he had trained to trust and protect his family? What had gone wrong?

Reborn frowned at Tsuna, watching as the brunet stiffened when Gokudera made his way to stand in front of his boss. Gokudera dropped to his knees and immediately began to bang his head against the soft grass, which coincidentally cushioned the bomber's forehead, probably preventing permanent damage.

"I'm so happy, Tenth!" Gokudera cried, and Reborn saw tears of joy streaming down his face when the silver-haired teen looked up. The boy was radiating more happiness than Reborn thought was even possible, his face lit up in elation.

"H-Hayato! Calm down." Tsuna called out, looking rather bewildered by the bomber's actions. If Reborn had to guess, Gokudera didn't do this much in the future. He'd most likely mellowed out. Amused, Reborn only watched as Gokudera continued to thank the young mafia boss. Flustered as he was, Tsuna seemed to remember this Gokudera enough to be able to handle his antics well.

Unfortunately for Tsuna, Lambo had gotten bored of watching the bomber harm himself out of happiness. The cow bounced up and down on Tsuna's lap again, causing the boy to cringe away again. Reborn noticed this and smirked. It seemed like the peaceful craziness of his young family was bringing down the walls hiding Tsuna's emotions.

"Tsuna! Even if you look weird, you still have to play with me!" Lambo demanded.

The tension in Tsuna's shoulders relaxed a bit, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the hitman. "Lambo," the brunet scolded softly. "Not right now. Go play with I-pin and Fuuta."

"Baka-Tsuna!" Lambo pouted, but jumped off of Tsuna anyways and ran towards the other kids, all three heading inside to play hide-and-seek.

Once Lambo was gone and only Gokudera, Nana, Tsuna, and Reborn were left, Tsuna sighed, rubbing his face wearily. Reborn hummed quietly, taking a few steps closer to the teen, if only to gauge his reaction. When Tsuna immediately stiffened, Reborn sighed, turning instead to the suspiciously quiet Gokudera.

"Gokudera, where is Yamamoto?" Reborn asked.

Gokudera scowled, averting his eyes to the side. "How would I know where the baseball freak is? I don't keep the idiot on a leash."

Reborn frowned, picking up Tsuna's small flinch at the words "baseball freak". Ignoring that problem for the time being, Reborn made a list of where the guardians probably ended up. Yamamoto was probably at TakeSushi, so it shouldn't be too hard to get him to here, especially considering how crazy protective the guardians had become after seeing a future ravaged Byakuran.

Glancing briefly at the two flame users, Reborn had Leon transform into a small green flip phone. He turned away from Tsuna and Gokudera, shooting them both a warning glare as he walked further into the house and into the kitchen to have some privacy. He had quite a few phone calls to make.

Reborn dialed and waited.

"Hello?" a voice on the other greeted, sounding slightly agitated. Reborn couldn't exactly blame him. It wasn't every day that Reborn bothered to grace the External Advisor with a phone call. "Reborn? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Reborn said, swallowing the lump of unwanted feelings in order to speak more clearly and free of emotions. "There's an issue we need to discuss."

"Issue?" Iemitsu asked, sounding confused before his voice turned venomous. "Is Tsuna okay?! What did you get him into this time?! If you got him killed, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what?" Reborn asked blandly. "Kill me?"

Iemitsu didn't speak for a moment, and when he did, his voice was soft and full of concern. "Is Tsuna there? Can I talk to him?"

"He's...here, for the most part. Sawada Tsunayoshi is here. But what I wanted to talk to you about was the memories you've no doubt gained," Reborn gritted out, stopping Iemitsu from burying himself in worry. "The memories from the future."

There was silence on the other line.

"What about them?" Iemitsu finally asked, a scrape sounding from the other line. If Reborn had to guess, Iemitsu had probably been sitting at his desk and had scooted his chair out to stand. "And what do you mean 'for the most part'? Reborn, _what happened to my son?!_"

Ignoring Iemitsu's last two questions and instead focusing on the first, Reborn took a deep steadying breath. If he was going to do this, then he had to do this right. It wouldn't do to make a mistake and have this whole situation careen out of his control.

"Your memories are real."

"I didn't doubt it, Reborn," Iemitsu growled. "I was already informed by Basil what exactly transpired in the future. Now _tell me what happened to Tsuna._"

It couldn't be avoided any longer. He had known Basil would have gotten to Iemitsu first, even if had only been minutes since their arrival in the present. Still, for the first time in a long time, Reborn was unsure what to say to the father of his student, who was well beyond concerned for his son. He had been trying to buy some time, beating around the bush as he scrambled to clear himself of the foreign emotional rambling around inside his head. Because-

Because Tsuna was _gone_.

"What?" Iemitsu's voice was just a ghost of a whisper, his disbelief just a breath on his lips. "Re...Reborn...what did you just say?"

He'd spoken out loud.

"Tsuna's gone. He disappeared a few moments after we arrived back from the future."

"How?! How could he just disappear? Did someone take him for ransom or revenge, knowing he is the Decimo-"

"Iemitsu," Reborn interrupted, hoping to calm the hysterical father. "I need you to get to Namimori as soon as you can."

"Are you kidding?!" Iemitsu seethed, a resounding clip-clopping starting from the other line as the External Advisor began to pace. "I'll be there in six hours with a full investigation squad-"

"No. Just bring Lal and Basil if you have to bring anyone at all," Reborn sighed, frowning as his mind raced, thinking of the implications of Iemitsu starting an investigation with this situation balancing on the fine point of a knife. One nudge in the wrong direction and everything would topple to the ground. Hysteria would break out among the Vongola if people ever found out what had happened to the heir to the Vongola mantle.

"Stop interrupting every goddamn thing I say, Reborn!" Iemitsu snapped. "My son is missing and your telling me that you _don't_ want me to instigate an investigation?!"

"This isn't what you think, Iemitsu. It's a complex situation that requires delicacy, and I suggest that, if you want to see Tsuna, you get your ass to Japan and help me figure out what to do before word gets out that Tsuna disappeared and was replaced with an older version of your son covered in blood."

The line was silent for a few moments before Iemitsu spoke softly, "I'll be there in six hours with Lal and Basil, not a second later."

There was a click and the line went dead. Reborn sighed and let Leon transform back into a chameleon. Leon crawled onto the hitman's shoulder and licked his cheek, sensing his growing unease at the whole situation.

"Reborn-san!"

Startled from Gokudera's call, Reborn ran back into the living room, immediately assessing the situation. Tsuna's prone form was lying on the wooden floor, Gokudera kneeling next to him, eyes wide with alarm. Anxious green eyes met onyx as Reborn made his way over to the two.

Something else was wrong with the situation.

"Where's Nana?" Reborn hissed, checking over the brunet lying on the floor with barely visible sun flames while he waited for the bomber to answer. The hitman was relieved the teen had just passed out from exhaustion.

Gokudera looked around before shrugging nervously. "She was here just a moment ago."

Reborn was seething, turning to stomp towards the kitchen. How could he allow this to happen on his watch? The hitman was supposed to be the one watching out for his student, and yet, his student had disappeared without a trace, leaving his older counterpart behind in his place. And even if he wasn't exactly his present student, this older Tsuna was still supposed to be his responsibility, and he had managed to fail at that, too. On top of all that, Nana was missing.

"Wait! Reborn-san!" Gokudera yelled, reaching out for the Arcobaleno. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm calling Shamal and telling him to get his perverted ass over here. And if he refuses, I'll put a bullet in his damn head."

No, Reborn didn't tolerate failure. Especially not his own.

* * *

"I don't understand. What's wrong with him?" Gokudera asked, staring blankly at the older Tsuna. His uncomprehensive expression told Shamal everything he needed to know. Gokudera obviously wasn't sure how to feel. He didn't know if he should be worried for a Tsuna that wasn't his own.

Standing from his kneeling position near the head of Tsuna's bed to crouch in front of his ex-student, who was seated in a chair at Tsuna's bedside with his hands clasped tightly in front of him, the doctor sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy one to explain.

"Hayato," Shamal called, effectively gaining the attention of those forest green eyes. Shamal, used to having to break bad news to the friends and family of patients, hardened his resolve. He was a doctor, and if he couldn't do this in the right way, then he was a failure as a doctor. If this wasn't done right then blame would be cast, anger could lead to words impossible to take back, and grief could consume any and all hope. As a doctor, his job wasn't just to cure the sick; his job was to console those left behind. Because whether they knew it or not, everyone was his patient—female or otherwise—no matter how much either of them wished they weren't.

"What's wrong with him, Shamal? Tell me," Gokudera pleaded, a hoarseness to his voice that could only be blamed on constrained emotion. "I need to know."

Shamal sighed. "Hayato, it's hard understand what happened to him from just examining his wounds."

"But you know," Gokudera whispered. "I _know_ you know."

Shamal didn't say anything for a moment, instead observing his newest patient. It was strange, really. The brunet had no other wounds besides the occasional bruise here and there. There was a healthy sheen to his skin, his face peaceful as he slept, blissfully unaware of the heartache he was causing by just existing in this time.

"Please tell me, Shamal," Gokudera begged. His voice was soft and quiet, so unlike his usual brash front he put up when dealing with anyone besides Tsuna.

"He's exhausted," Shamal admitted, brown eyes scanning over the brunet's serene face once more. "More than likely he used his flame too long and he collapsed from exhaustion."

Gokudera studied the solemn doctor, eyes narrowing in suspicion. The silver-haired teen looked between Tsuna and Shamal, contemplating his ex-teacher's words. Gaze swiveling back to Shamal, the dark-haired man tried not to react to his ex-student's scrutiny. Shamal silently cursed as a realization seemed to hit the bomber, rethinking his evaluation of the teen. Sometimes the kid was way too smart for his own good.

"You're not telling me everything."

Shamal sighed again. "It's complicated, and if I tell you, you're probably going to hit me."

"Why would I hit you?" Gokudera asked. The teen sat up like he had been shocked or something, staring at the doctor with wide eyes. "You...you didn't do anything to him, right? If I find out that you hurt him then I _will_ kick your perverted ass all the way back to Italy."

Shamal chuckled, an amusing image of a furious Gokudera chasing him all over Japan trying to throw him on a plane to Italy coming to mind. The teen would probably follow through with his threat, not resting until Shamal had been successfully kicked out of the country.

"I didn't do anything besides make sure that Tsuna would be able to regain the energy before he wakes up."

"So, what?" Gokudera asked, confusion written all over his face. "You had a Trident Mosquito bite him to restore his flames?"

"No."

Startled, both Shamal and Gokudera half-turned towards the door to Tsuna's to find Reborn standing there, fedora pulled down to shadow his face, keeping his emotions completely hidden from view.

"Did you find Nana?" Shamal asked, eager to change the topic and concerned for the well-being for the brunet's mother—and not just because she was female. He respected Nana and Iemitsu enough to stay away from that lost cause.

Reborn hummed noncommittally. "She's at TakeSushi."

"Why there?" Shamal asked. What reason did Nana have for running to the Yamamoto's when her son was so obviously in need of her? From what Shamal had witnessed, Nana could be terribly oblivious, but she absolutely loved her son and would do anything for him.

"She didn't understand why Tsuna had disappeared," Reborn answered. "And before you ask, she's not as oblivious as we thought. She knows Tsuna better than anyone and she knows that _he_ is not her Tsuna."

"So she was scared," Shamal concluded. "She was scared and ran away to find Tsuyoshi." The doctor paused, frowning as another thought occurred to him. "But why go to TakeSushi? Why not call Iemitsu?"

Reborn sighed, obviously exasperated. "She's not stupid. No one but an idiot would try to call Iemitsu at this time a day unless they had his CEDEF number, which Nana doesn't have. Even if it was an emergency, it wouldn't be likely that idiot would pick up. Nana knows that. She went to the closest friend she could think of."

Shamal shook his head. "I didn't think Nana would be that easy to scare. After years of letting in strangers and putting up with the strange mafia crap that goes on around here, you'd think she would be immune."

"This is different," Reborn said, fedora still hiding his eyes.

"How so?"

"It's Tsuna," Gokudera answered for the hitman. "It's different because instead of happening _around_ Tsuna, it happened _to_ Tsuna."

Reborn didn't say anything more, instead jumping onto the bed to take a closer look at the brunet's prone form. Shamal didn't bother him, knowing that the tutor needed time to let this settle in. That was one perk of being a doctor—it was easy to accept change.

As Shamal watched the Arcobaleno stare at Tsuna, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of pity for the hitman. In the mafia, it was dangerous to have emotional attachments. They could easily be used against an enemy and could often break a person when the bond between two people was broken—by death or otherwise.

Reborn, unfortunately, was experiencing the pain of losing a student. Tsuna wasn't dead (as far as they knew), but they had no idea where he was and whether they would get him back. Reborn was mourning for his student, and probably would, quietly and in his own twisted way, until this older Tsuna woke up and told them the situation. Thinking about it now, those of the present time knew next to nothing about this situation besides the assumption that their Tsuna had probably switched places with the older Tsuna.

"How long until he wakes up?" Reborn asked, breaking the tentative silence.

Shamal hesitated before answering, knowing that his answer would probably have him on the receiving end of Gokudera's wrath. "A day. Maybe two."

Gokudera glanced sharply in the doctor's direction, unable to fathom why it would take more than 24 hours for the brunet to wake form his exhausted slumber. Shamal sighed. Gokudera would more than likely badger the doctor until he got an answer that satisfied him. Thinking he may as well get it over with before the bomber could even ask the question burning in his mind, Shamal turned to face his ex-student.

"One of my trident Mosquitos did bite Tsuna, but not the one you were thinking."

"It's one that puts the victim to drug induced sleep to keep them from hurting themselves before they're ready to move," Reborn finished. Shamal shot the hitman a glare before turning back to the bomber.

"Yes, what Reborn says is true. If Tsuna were to wake up before he was ready, he could cause irreversible damage to his body. He's not in a state to even be awake at the moment without being at risk of overexerting himself," Shamal said gravely.

Gokudera stared with wide eyes at the brunet lying on the bed. "That's...but the only other time he's ever been even close to being in that state was after he fought Xanxus, and he was asleep naturally for almost two days. Why induce his sleep when he should naturally stay asleep?"

"You don't understand, Hayato," Shamal said, tone solemn. "Back then, Tsuna was still learning to harness his flame and unable to cope with extensive injuries without proper time for him to heal. Now, though, we have no idea what he is capable of. It could be that Tsuna may wake up before long, thinking he's just a little tired when in reality his flame is barely flickering. He might not be able to sense that he needs to sleep more and overexert himself. I don't know his recovery rate because I have never treated at the point in time he is at."

Gokudera stayed silent, leaning back in his chair and staring at his boss with a conflicted expression. Nodding to both of the other occupants, Shamal made for the door.

"Let me know if anything changes," Shamal said, waiting only a moment more for a reply. When none came, Shamal only sighed and left them to sit by the brunet's bedside. If they wanted to stay by Tsuna's side until he woke up, who was he to stop them? In the meantime, he was going to try to find Bianchi...

* * *

**So now we know what happened in the present time!**

**Okay, before anyone kills me, let me just say that I'm super sorry and the only excuse I had for dragging this out so long is because I got stuck trying to write Iemitsu. I took me more than two weeks to write 24 paragraphs. Well, to make up for it, chapter five will be posted by the 6th of June. After that, it will be a biweekly schedule since I don't have anything big planned for the summer. Anyways, let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story so if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.**


	5. Chapter 5

I switched up the POV in this chapter quite a bit. It jumps around a little, but to understand the situation, it needs to. Hope you enjoy this. It was difficult to write at first, because I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to introduce some of the characters (they're really important for the next chapter) but I managed to figure it out. Please let me know what you thought!

Thanks to **tofldh **and **rojeru **for reviewing!

* * *

It pained Tsuna to say that the game hadn't lasted very long.

"What I want to know is why the stupid cow heard Tsuna yell while the rest of us were completely oblivious to anything," Reborn said, glowering into his espresso as he walked through the kitchen door to where Tsuna and his Guardians were eating. "If that had been an enemy attacking Tsuna, both he and Lambo would be dead and we wouldn't have found their bodies until morning."

Of course Reborn had found out. He was _Reborn_, for crying out loud. Tsuna would have been more surprised if the hitman hadn't found out before lunch—because his tutor always found out about everything. It turned out that Reborn found out when Gokudera had woken him up in the middle of the night to report—why the bomber would do that was anybody's guess. To say the hitman had been pissed was an understatement. Tsuna was just glad Reborn wasn't still trying to string the brunet up by his feet and fill him full of bullet holes.

Lambo laughed triumphantly, running a hand to smooth down his rumpled cow-print dress shirt. At this age, he looked a little more like Adult Lambo than he did at five years old. His afro had grown out a little so he couldn't hide things in his hair anymore, but it was still pretty curly. Also—probably the most disconcerting thing—Lambo wasn't absolutely tiny anymore.

"Lambo-san just has better hearing than the rest of you imbeciles!"

Really, Tsuna was impressed. Lambo was standing up to Reborn before the hitman had a chance to take a sip from his morning coffee _and_ he was using big words. It was a miracle that Lambo wasn't already dead.

"Are you overly fond of your ears?" Reborn drawled, not even bothering to mask his irritation. Tsuna just sighed as Leon crawled onto Reborn's free hand, morphing into a familiar green mallet. Lambo squeaked when he caught sight of the hammer but was unable to move before the mallet came rushing down to meet his head, slamming the boy's face into the wooden table. "Or would you like me to shoot them off for you?"

There were a couple of snickers around the table at the young boy's misfortune, but Tsuna wasn't sure who they had come from.

Looking around at the table, there were quite a few seats open—at least ten. Tsuna was sat at the head of the table—across from where Reborn had just set down his espresso—so he could see everyone clearly without too much difficulty.

Gokudera sat on Tsuna's right and Yamamoto sat on his left, with Ryohei next to Yamamoto. Next to Gokudera sat Lambo, sniffling from his encounter with the Leon-hammer. After that there were five or so chairs left open on each side. And then there was Reborn.

Catching his gaze, Reborn sipped his coffee, a mischievous gleam in his onyx gaze. Tsuna shuddered and quickly averted his eyes, moving them to rest on his half-eaten breakfast. Breakfast was tough enough with Gokudera fidgeting every few seconds. He didn't need Reborn staring at him with those creepy, soul-piercing eyes of his.

Tsuna let his eyes wander from his food to Gokudera, scrutinizing the bomber from under his bangs. Gokudera seemed antsy, and not in a good way. It seemed like he was nervous to even be in the same room as Tsuna. The brunet couldn't fathom why since Gokudera had seemed perfectly okay with him a day ago when he rescued Tsuna and brought him to the base. With his knee bouncing and his eyes darting around the room to land on every escape route possible, it looked like he was just itching to run away.

Choosing not to acknowledge the Storm Guardian's strange behavior, Tsuna let his eyes wander to the vacant chairs. Frowning, he pushed his omelet around his plate as he pondered why there would be so many seats at a table that seemed to be meant for him, Reborn, and Tsuna's Guardians.

"Hey," Tsuna called out to the chattering guardians, catching their attention. "Where's Hi-Hibari? He's here at the base, right?"

Yamamoto chuckled lightly. "Hibari's not really a morning person, you know?"

"That's an understatement," Gokudera scowled, tearing off another bite of his pastry.

Yamamoto just shrugged. "He's not usually here until eight or nine, and he usually doesn't eat breakfast. At least," Yamamoto paused, thinking back, "at least, I don't think he does. The only time I've ever seen him eat is at dinner."

Tsuna hummed thoughtfully, turning that over in his head. That sounded like something Hibari would do. The brunet doubted Hibari would tolerate crowding with other people any more than once a day.

Yamamoto and Ryohei, finished with their breakfast, excused themselves, Gokudera scrambling after them only moments after an awkward bow to no one in general. The guardians' leave left Tsuna at a table with a slightly irritated Reborn and a grumpy Lambo. Tsuna shivered. This didn't seem like it was going to be at all pleasant.

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked at Reborn in askance. "What? Whatever you think I did, I didn't so you're not allowed to shoot me."

"First of all," Reborn said slowly, nursing his espresso while the corner of his mouth twitched in what could easily be either irritation or amusement, "you aren't allowed to tell me what to do. Second, I was just going to tell you to go to the training room we were in the other day after you're finished breakfast. You and Fuuta will be doing training there."

"The one on the seventeenth floor?" Tsuna asked, unsure of whether to feel nervous or grateful. His thoughts from last night came rushing back to him.

_He wasn't strong enough to face something so improbable head on._

Maybe this could be a chance. A chance where he could gain strength and become powerful enough not to be completely overwhelmed by whatever was coming for him.

"With Fuuta?" Tsuna continued, a thought striking him. "I thought you said those training rooms were for new recruits?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you _are_ a new recruit."

"But what about Fuuta?" Tsuna asked. "How old is he now? Eleven? Twelve? Why does he have to fight? And what happened to me proving myself after fighting Hibari?"

"Hibari went easy on you." Tsuna wasn't sure how _that _was going easy, but before he could ask, Reborn continued. "You might have been pushed into a rapid training pace while fighting the Millefiore, but you aren't anywhere close to where you need to be."

"A-And where do I need to be?" Tsuna asked, noticing that Reborn had avoided every question but his last.

It was a strange feeling, like everything was zooming past him and he was powerless to even slow it down. Reborn, on the other side of the table, just raised an eyebrow at the brunet's response.

"We need to power you up to where your future self was in one month or else the Vongola will have lost this war," Reborn said. The hitman, having effectively left Tsuna speechless, stood up and walked out, dragging the sniveling Lambo out the door behind him and leaving Tsuna alone with a weight that, once again, he needed to shoulder in order for the Vongola to be saved.

Tsuna had never felt so alone in his life.

* * *

He was so stupid. _So _stupid.

Gokudera wasn't supposed to be acting this way and he _knew_ it. The bomber, in the hallway outside the dining room, slumped against the wall. He just wanted to rip his hair out at his stupidity. The others had left the dining room via the kitchen, like they always did, so Gokudera didn't have to worry about Reborn or any of the Guardians finding him. He'd be the safest here. So close to the Tenth, and yet still so far away.

That was what was killing him. As much as he wanted to believe it was, this wasn't his boss. This younger, inexperienced boy wasn't the mafia leader he had come to respect. How could he call someone who wasn't and yet was his best friend the Tenth?

The title that used to slip from his lips so easily now caught in his throat whenever he tried to speak to the boy. He couldn't even look at the boy anymore, too ashamed of his own hesitation. If this kept up, how could he even stand being in the same room as the younger version of his boss?

And it was getting harder. It was getting harder and harder as the hours passed him by. The realization that this boy wasn't his best friend was crashing down upon him and tearing his world apart. The Tenth was his world, and now his world was gone, probably trapped in a more peaceful time while his younger self was thrust into a future ravaged by war. What was he supposed to do now?

What could he do without Tsuna?

* * *

After he finished his omelet, Tsuna made his way to the seventeenth floor. Slowly, after a few wrong turns, he was learning the layout of this place, which meant that he was learning which routes were best if he wanted to avoid people.

The elevator dinged cheerfully as the doors slid open, the complete opposite of Tsuna's exasperated mood. He didn't want to be here any more than he wanted to eat Bianchi's Poison Cooking. And yet, if he took too long, then Reborn would probably threaten to shoot him again and he was beyond over getting bullied by Reborn in this form. He was way too mafia-like for Tsuna's comfort.

Stopping at the third door on the right, Tsuna gazed blankly at the red light above the door. Red meant occupied. So did that mean Fuuta was already in there? Or was there someone else in there like yesterday? Fuuta hadn't had breakfast with them, so maybe Reborn was just tricking him into getting to training early and walking in on some trainees who couldn't speak Japanese.

And if they didn't speak Japanese? What would Tsuna do then? He couldn't speak Italian any more than he could speak English—and if anyone saw his English grades, they would have an idea of how well he could speak English.

Frustrated with himself, with Reborn—both his Reborn and this adult Reborn—and with this whole situation in general, Tsuna sat down in front of the door. He was done. He would wait here until someone walked out of the room, sent to retrieve him or, especially if they were new recruits, finished with their training.

He didn't have to wait long. Less than two minutes later, the door slid open and revealed two people.

"Tsuna-nii?"

"Herbivore."

Hibari and Fuuta were already inside. Tsuna blinked, getting up to stand before the two already in the training room. Reborn wasn't there, and for some reason, that surprised him.

"U-Um, Hibari?" Tsuna asked, his voice soft. "Where's Reborn?"

Hibari scowled at Tsuna and grabbed his wrist, pulling the brunet inside. "I don't have time to waste on that carnivore right now. I have to turn you back into an omnivore."

Feeling more or less confused, Tsuna turned to Fuuta, hoping the Ranking Prince would be able to help him glean some answers. Instead of helping, Fuuta just stared back at him in undisguised bewilderment.

As much as Tsuna had tried to prepare himself for Fuuta's inevitable change of appearance, Tsuna was rather caught off guard by his younger brother's change as much as Fuuta was by his. They were practically the same height now, with Tsuna having just an inch or two on the boy.

"F-Fuuta?"

"Tsuna-nii, Takeshi-nii said you looked different, but I didn't think you'd look _this_ different. You used to be so tall!"

Again with him being tall. Tsuna wondered whether or not all of them were playing a joke on him by mentioning his height. They all knew he wasn't the best with his height, especially when everyone else seemed to have grown during their months in the future while he more or else had stayed the same.

"Herbivores," Hibari snapped. "Pay attention or I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna was feeling rather scared by the prospect of having to be trained by Hibari again. He looked to Fuuta to see if the younger was feeling the same, but was surprised to see that Fuuta was watching Hibari with rapt attention, looking almost excited.

"What's the training going to be?" Fuuta asked, a smile lighting up his face.

"Sparring. Hand to hand combat. No weapons."

Tsuna twitched at that. If he wasn't allowed to use his gloves than he wasn't going to be doing much damage, but, he thought looking the younger boy up and down, it was probably for the best since he didn't want to hurt Fuuta.

"And...no Hyper Dying Will mode."

"What?!"

Tsuna turned at that, staring incredulously at Hibari, struggling to comprehend the skylark's words. No Dying Will mode? At all? But that would mean he wouldn't be able to _fight_. At _all._

As much as he hated to admit it, he was incompetent without his pills. In Dying Will mode he was able to analyze his enemy quicker and find the courage to execute a strategy that would normally terrify him. In Dying Will mode, he had resolve to fight. He knew how to move. He wasn't flailing around like an idiot trying to protect himself. In Dying Will mode, he was _able_ to protect. Without it, he couldn't do anything.

Even Fuuta looked troubled by Hibari's words, probably remembering how much of a weakling Tsuna could be when he wasn't in Dying Will mode.

"But Tsuna-nii can't-"

"He needs to be able to defend himself when he can't get to his gloves and pills in time. Yesterday proved that all the herbivore could do was dodge, and that's not always going to be enough to keep an enemy from killing you. He needs to learn."

Tsuna stared. Two different realizations hit him at one time. The first was that this was the most he had ever heard Hibari speak at one time. The second? Reborn, the bastard, had set this up. The mischievous and amused smile this morning at breakfast was all Tsuna needed as proof. This was all Reborn's fault.

"But, what about-"

"Herbivore, if you can't handle it, then you can wait outside."

Fuuta immediately shut his mouth, but Tsuna's mind was reeling. If Fuuta couldn't handle _what _exactly?

And that's when the third realization hit. Hibari's gray eyes bore into his own, their gazes holding far longer than Tsuna was comfortable with. Tearing his gaze away from Hibari's, Tsuna looked over Fuuta's form. The boy was battered, but certainly looked like he could train for a few more hours.

_Hibari and Fuuta had already been training. That's why neither of them were at breakfast._

Tsuna gulped, turning back to the stoic Hibari. "Who...Who exactly am I going to be fighting?"

Hibari didn't look the least bit impressed. "You'll be fighting me, herbivore. And I won't be going easy on you. Not like yesterday."

Tsuna, with dread pooling in his stomach, realized exactly how much he hadn't understood about today's training. He wasn't going to be training _with_ Fuuta, but _alongside_ Fuuta. Hibari was going to train Tsuna until the brunet could stand up to the skylark without using his Hyper Dying Will mode.

_We need to power you up to where your future self was in one month or else the Vongola will have lost this war._

Tsuna was going to die.

* * *

When Reborn found Tsuna, he wasn't surprised to see the boy unconscious, his body bruised and battered to hell. Sighing as he knelt next to the boy, Reborn couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be good enough. Tsuna was so far behind, but would this catch him up in time? Could they do this without Tsuna at full power?

Reborn shook his head. That was like asking if they could execute the plan without Tsuna, and the hitman knew that doing something like that was never even an option. They needed to pull this off any way they could.

"Is he going to be okay?" Fuuta asked from the door, hesitant to step any closer to the beaten brunet. Reborn gave the young boy his trademark smirk as his hands glowed yellow with sun flames.

"Don't worry about Dame-Tsuna, Fuuta," Reborn reassured. "He'll be fit as a fiddle before dinner's ready."

Fuuta's frown deepened, his observant gaze wandering over Tsuna's sleeping face. "Are you sure this is going to work? Kyoya-nii went all out on him and all he improved in was dodging the strikes, not countering them. If he can't counter them then-"

"Tsuna's overcome things worse than this," Reborn reminded Fuuta gently. "He's strong and he can get past this, too."

"I don't like it," Fuuta said. "I don't like that we're doing something like this to Tsuna-nii. He's so kind and innocent right now. He isn't like...he's just like he was _before_. I want Tsuna-nii to stay like this forever."

Reborn sighed, keeping his hands on Tsuna's chest as the sun flames raced through Tsuna's veins, healing every broken bone or abrasion that they could find.

With the others, it had been easier. Yesterday's revelation that this Tsuna had replaced their Tsuna had brought everything to a grinding halt. Mostly everyone had agreed that Tsuna wasn't strong enough at this point to pull off the plan. They needed their Tsuna's power, and if they couldn't get it through bringing their Tsuna back, powering up this younger Tsuna was their only option. And everyone had agreed. Everyone but Fuuta.

"To win this war, we need an ace," Reborn explained gently. "We need a card up our sleeves that they won't see coming."

"That's what I don't get," Fuuta said sadly. "I don't understand why it has to be Tsuna when they already know about Tsuna's power. He's already the Decimo, so why wouldn't they be expecting him?"

Reborn shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Fuuta. Just know that this is necessary in order to end the war."

Fuuta sighed, knowing he had lost this argument. "If you say so. I'm going to go find Kyoko-nee. Tell Tsuna-nii when he wakes up that I'm not going to have dinner until he eats."

And with those final words, Fuuta left the training room.

Reborn turned back to the unconscious brunet. In some ways, Fuuta was right. This Tsuna shouldn't be tainted by this war torn world just yet. He had a good year and a half until was supposed to be facing anything like this.

And yet, the plan was nothing without Tsuna at the center. If they didn't help Tsuna get stronger before the month was up, this war would just keep going and going until there was nothing left of the Vongola.

"When are you going to fill him in?"

Reborn, having already sensed the technician, didn't flinch at Irie's accusing tone. "Which one are you talking about? Fuuta or Tsuna?"

"Both."

Reborn, having finished healing Tsuna to the best of his abilities, stood up and faced the seventeen year old redhead. The bespectacled teenager didn't move and kept his gaze strangely even. It was a rare sight to see Irie Shoichi so calm and collected.

"I haven't decided."

"Yes you have. At least, you've decided with Fuuta."

Reborn didn't answer, narrowing his gaze. He looked Irie up and down, confused as to why Irie would even know that Reborn was here. "What do you want, Irie?"

"I want to know why this is happening," Irie demanded. "I want to know why you're forcing Tsuna into something when you _know_ he can't handle it. He's fourteen for god's sake and he's confused as hell. I want to know when you plan on telling Tsuna _exactly_ what the hell he's dived headfirst into."

"Who says I have to tell him anything?"

"You _can't_ just do that to him again!" Irie shouted. "It's not _fair_! He's still a kid and he doesn't deserve something like this."

"He lost his right to be a kid when he declared himself the Vongola Decimo," Reborn seethed. "He can't forget that he's already neck deep in the mafia."

Irie scoffed. "You can't do that to him! You can't combine the two Tsuna's like they aren't any different. One _has_ done what you said. He _has _lost his right to be a child when he took up the Vongola mantle. The other _hasn't_. You can't expect this Tsuna to know how to handle himself!"

"You haven't even spoken to him," Reborn said. "You have no idea what he's like."

"I know enough to know that you haven't really spoken to him, either. Have you? How do you have any right to do something like this when you haven't spoken to him like he's different?"

Reborn was silent, neither confirming nor denying Irie's claim. The inventor's breathing was harsh, anger keeping his usual shyness around the hitman at bay. This Irie wasn't afraid of the hitman as long as Tsuna was at the core of the problem. It seemed that whenever Tsuna was involved, the whole Family seemed to get defensive.

"There's no other choice," Reborn said at last, his voice quiet. "If we want the rings to resonate than there's no other choice."

Irie's anger deflated in an instant and the redhead sighed in defeat. "Just...Just don't break him."

Tsuna wasn't from this time, so he didn't understand the gravity of the situation. In some ways, Irie was right. Reborn hadn't really taken the time to learn who this Tsuna was, immediately treating him like he would the Vongola Decimo.

But this Tsuna wasn't the Decimo. He wasn't the one they needed. And as he was Reborn's student, from the past or otherwise, it was the hitman's job to make him the one they needed. It was the only way.

"I'll try," Reborn murmured, looking down at his student's unconscious form. "I'll try my best to keep him as whole as possible."

* * *

Yamamoto looked up from his salad as Reborn came in. After spending six months fighting with the hitman, Yamamoto had gotten to know the ex-Arcobaleno almost better than Tsuna knew him. _Almost_. When it came to Reborn, no one knew him like Tsuna did.

But, when Reborn came through the kitchen door nursing an espresso, Yamamoto immediately knew something was wrong. If you didn't know the hitman, you wouldn't be able to tell, but Reborn's body was tense, as if he were on alert.

"Did something happen?" Yamamoto murmured quietly, even though they were the only two in the room.

Reborn didn't react outwardly other than stopping and turning his onyx gaze towards the swordsman. Yamamoto didn't flinch under the heavy gaze, and instead waited patiently for Reborn to answer him.

"Yes, I suppose something did," Reborn said after a while. "Irie and Fuuta are worried about Tsuna's lack of ability."

Yamamoto hummed softly in understanding, stuffing a piece of lettuce in his mouth. After he swallowed he swung his gaze back to Reborn, who still had yet to sit down at his spot.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Reborn's calculating eyes dropped to his espresso, and Yamamoto knew that he was weighing the consequences of telling the swordsman of what was on his mind. Yamamoto didn't mind. Everyone had their secrets and he respected that, but if it was about Tsuna, he was eager to help.

"Irie wants me to tell Tsuna the plan," Reborn said.

"Are you going to?"

Reborn paused for a moment before looking up at Yamamoto. "No. I think if I told him now then I would be the one responsible for breaking him again."

Yamamoto frowned at the word _again_. "What happened six months ago was not your fault."

"No," Reborn murmured quietly, finally making his way to the end of the table to sit down. "I suppose it wasn't really anybody's fault, was it?"

Yamamoto, a sick sort of feeling welling up in his stomach, stood up, letting the chair scrape loudly against the wood floor. He picked up his half-finished plate and scooted the chair back in. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have right now.

"Where's Tsuna now?"

"I took him back to his bedroom."

"You mean our Tsuna's bedroom," Yamamoto corrected.

Reborn just nodded absently. Yamamoto, unable to take the tension any longer, turned to the kitchen door and slid through, a frown tugging down the corner of his lips. This wasn't good, he thought as he threw the salad away and put his plate in the sink. This wasn't good at all. He needed to go find Gokudera.

* * *

Tsuna woke up with a tingling sensation attacking his body. It was like the pins and needles you felt when your arm fell asleep and the blood was flowing back into it, except it was throughout his entire body. Groaning, Tsuna sat up with some difficulty, surprised to find himself in a pleasantly warm bed that was _not_ in the infirmary.

"Tsuna?"

The brunet glanced up when he felt a hand on his back, pulling him up to lean against the headboard. Yamamoto smiled at him and sat at the edge of his bed.

"How'd you sleep?"

Tsuna blinked. "Sleep?"

Looking around, the brunet found that he really wasn't in the infirmary. He was in an elegant but astoundingly simple bedroom. There was a clean, lavish desk shoved in the corner, a couple feet away from the large bed. The door was directly across from Tsuna with a dresser to Tsuna's left. The only other piece of furniture in the room was the mirror on the wall to Tsuna's right. That was it.

"Where am I?" Tsuna asked, rubbing the weariness from his eyes. "How'd I get here? I thought I was in the training room with Hibari."

Yamamoto laughed nervously, a tension in his shoulders that shouldn't have been there. "About that..."

The door slid open, revealing Gokudera. Tsuna sat up straighter, abruptly as nervous as Yamamoto was. Why was Gokudera here when he had been doing everything besides outright ignoring Tsuna?

"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna greeted softly.

Gokudera stiffened, some unknown emotions battling for dominance in his forest green eyes. Finally, having come to some sort of conclusion, Gokudera sighed and walked over to Tsuna's bed. Tsuna watched wide-eyed as the bomber hefted himself onto the bed, resting against the headboard next to Tsuna.

Yamamoto looked pained. "You know, you don't have to be here."

Gokudera grunted, jabbing a thumb at Tsuna. "It's not fair to him if I'm not."

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked, warily looking between the two older Guardians. "What are you talking about?"

Yamamoto sighed, looking down at his palms. If Tsuna had to put words to Yamamoto's expression, he would say that the baseball player was resolving himself to tell Tsuna something. That could only mean they were about to break some bad news to him. Suddenly, Tsuna wished he could just go back to sleep.

"About your earlier question," Yamamoto said. "Hibari got annoyed with all of your dodging and knocked you out. Reborn healed you and brought you here. This is your bedroom in the future."

"Oh," Tsuna said, taking a second look at the room through new eyes. This was the bedroom that would be his in two years. It seemed very simple and a lot less messy than he was used to. Maybe Reborn had finally whipped him into shape. "It's nice. I like it."

Gokudera snorted softly, causing Yamamoto and Tsuna to look at him. Tsuna wondered again why Gokudera was here when he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but next to Tsuna.

"Um, why are you in my bed?"

Gokudera's eyes sharpened and he turned his glare full force towards the brunet, scaring Tsuna and causing him to yelp softly.

"Hiee! I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"Hayato, maybe you should leave," Yamamoto suggested not unkindly. "You said that you didn't want to be here and if it was unfair to Tsuna before then it's even more unfair to him now."

Tsuna was awed by Yamamoto's sudden wisdom. This Yamamoto seemed to be less oblivious to his surroundings. He seemed to know rather than guess and hope his instincts were right. That meant he knew why Gokudera was avoiding Tsuna.

Tsuna's hopes to understand plummeted rapidly. Why did everyone know _everything_ before Tsuna did? They always seemed to keep secrets from him like they were protecting him. He didn't need to be protected.

Or did he? The night before, he had been so overwhelmed by everything that his only thoughts had been roughly, _I don't want to be here I want to go home I want to see my mother I want my old life back I don't want to feel out of place anymore help me._

It was always _help me_.

Sighing, Tsuna looked at his two friends, the ones he would truly know in the future. They were staring at each other, holding some silent conversation. Yamamoto's frown deepened and Gokudera's glare hardened as the two bickered silently.

"You guys?" Tsuna asked when he could no longer take it, interrupting their inaudible conversation. "What's going on? Why are you here?"

"Can't we just be here to support you?" Yamamoto asked gently, his smile soft and understanding as he looked at the younger teen. "We're your friends, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna stuttered out, overwhelmed by his confusing emotions pulling him one way and then the other. He was angry that they weren't telling him everything, but he wasn't going to pry. If they had secrets, he would respect that. Why shouldn't he? They were friends.

Gokudera was silent as he scrutinized the brunet. Tsuna shivered under the glare, still unused to being on this side of it. As much as he wanted to believe Yamamoto, he didn't really think this Gokudera thought of Tsuna as a friend.

"Yeah, so since we're friends, there's something that I wanted to tell you," Yamamoto continued, his smile falling slightly.

"To tell me?" Tsuna asked, puzzled. "Is it about the war? About why I'm stuck in the future?"

Yamamoto shook his head at Tsuna's last question. "We had nothing to do with you coming to the future. I have no idea why you're here. It is about the war, though. Or rather, your training."

"My training? Isn't it just because there _is_ a war?"

"He means why you need to do the type of training you've been doing," Gokudera said.

"I don't get it," Tsuna said flatly, unnerved by the fact that his Guardians really were keeping secrets from him.

_They're not your Guardians_, he reminded himself. He had left his guardians back in the past with his tutor. They were allowed to keep secrets from him because he was not their Tsuna. They didn't really know each other that well, so why wouldn't they be keeping secrets from him?

Gokudera sighed wearily. "There's something bad that's going down on the first of November and we need you to be ready," he explained tersely.

"How bad?"

"Something that could end the whole war," Yamamoto said gravely. "And if we don't stop it, then the Vongola will have lost."

"What is it?" Tsuna asked, curious but also terrified to hear the answer.

Nobody said anything for a long time. Minutes passed, but still, both Gokudera and Yamamoto remained quiet. Tsuna didn't push, unsure of how to breach this barrier. This future thing was something that was separating the Vongola, and they needed to overcome this.

_But how?_

Tsuna didn't know and he didn't break the silence.

The door slid open again, causing the three teens to look up, each with a varied degree of horror on their face.

Tsuna blanched, his fists clenching the sheets so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"K-Kyoko? What are you...what are you doing here?"

In the doorway stood a smiling girl with shoulder length golden hair and bright golden eyes, holding a plate full of sushi with a side of rice balls. The girl's smile faltered when golden eyes met brown.

"Ts-Tsuna-kun?"

* * *

Miles away from the Vongola base, a man leaned back in a high backed leather chair, smirking as he read over his subordinate's report.

The game was getting dangerous, but the Vongola was one step behind now.

_Your move, Decimo._

* * *

Wow. Sorry that was a little dramatic. I kind of left it on a cliff-hanger, and for that I'm sorry, but the next chapter has a scene that I had written before I even wrote the first chapter, and this was kind of the intro into everything that's been going on in the future. So it was necessary. Please review and if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.

See you guys in two weeks!


	6. Chapter 6

What? I'm updating early? Yeah, so I was so excited to post this chapter (because it answers some questions) even though it's a little dialogue heavy. Enjoy!

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

_The door slid open again, causing the three teens to look up, each with a varied degree of horror on their face._

_Tsuna blanched, his fists clenching the sheets so tight that his knuckles turned white._

"_K-Kyoko? What are you...what are you doing here?"_

_In the doorway stood a smiling girl with shoulder length golden hair and bright golden eyes, holding a plate full of sushi with a side of rice balls. The girl's smile faltered when golden eyes met brown._

"_Ts-Tsuna-kun?"_

* * *

Tsuna stared at Kyoko and Kyoko stared right back.

"Kyoko-san, I don't think you should be in here," Gokudera finally spoke, causing Tsuna's and Kyoko's gazes to snap to the bomber's face. His expression was solemn, and his tone was grave, like he was delivering the news that a mother just lost her child.

"Where's Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked, her voice soft and unsure. "Fuuta-kun said that the two of you came _back_."

Kyoko was distressed. Tsuna was panicking. Even Yamamoto looked slightly troubled. Gokudera seemed to be the only one who was calm and collected, which Tsuna found ironic considering his personality. But just like when he had first met the older Gokudera, the self-proclaimed right hand man took charge calmly and with authority, not letting his emotions get in the way of what he needed to do.

There were two parts to this Gokudera, and Tsuna found none of the best friend he had left behind in the present time. This older Gokudera was either the man who stood next to the other Tsuna and was able to calmly exude authority or he was someone who didn't like this younger Tsuna and hated to be around him. So what did that say about Tsuna's older self? Had he really changed so much in two years that the future Gokudera would reject the younger version of his best friend?

Right, Tsuna thought, glancing at his crush. This wasn't the time to be thinking about Gokudera. Kyoko was the priority.

Her hair had grown out a little. It was to her shoulders now, and she had grown an inch or two, but other than that, she didn't seem too different.

"Um, K-Kyoko-chan," Tsuna said, unable to look her in the eyes. He contented himself with staring down at the blanket the he still clutched with white knuckles. "I-I know this isn't what you were expecting-"

"Be quiet!" Gokudera seethed. "You can't talk to her like that! She doesn't know about-"

"_Hayato._" Yamamoto was somehow standing in front of the bomber now, his amber gaze sharp and full of warning. "Before you say _one more word_, actually _look_ at who you're speaking to."

Gokudera let his gaze flit over the brunet before he averted his eyes. Pushing past the baseball player, Gokudera left the room without another word, leaving Kyoko, Yamamoto, and Tsuna alone. Sighing, Yamamoto gave both Tsuna and Kyoko a gentle, reassuring smile. He sat back down in the spot he had previously vacated.

Tsuna glanced at Kyoko's face before casting his gaze back to Yamamoto's slightly strained smile. This was bad. Without Gokudera to mediate calmly, the task now fell to baseball player. As weird as it was to say it, without Gokudera, everything was crumbling. One look at Kyoko's face was all Tsuna needed as proof.

Yamamoto took a deep breath. "Sasagawa, I thought Ryohei told you that Tsuna wasn't supposed to have visitors," he said.

Kyoko shook her head. "I know that, but Fuuta-kun refused to eat unless Tsuna-kun ate first," Kyoko explained, her voice trembling. She held up the plate of food. "I thought since Tsuna-kun was stuck on these floors, he might want something to remind him of home."

It wasn't lost on Tsuna that she refused to let her eyes linger on him. He didn't know what _his_ expression was, but he knew it probably mirrored the confusion and horror he felt at Kyoko's presence here. Why was she _here?_ She was supposed to be back in Namimori. Safe and sound. Away from the mafia and his dangerous life.

God, Just what was his older self_ thinking_?

Yamamoto nodded and accepted the plate. "I'll make sure Tsuna eats it. You should go and find Haru. Just," Yamamoto glanced at Tsuna, "just don't bring her here, okay?"

Kyoko stayed where she was. She—_finally_—let her eyes settle on Tsuna's frozen form, her mouth forming a grim line. "I...I don't understand. I thought Fuuta-kun said both of you came back to us."

Yamamoto shook his head. "We don't know why Tsuna is here," he said quietly. "Shoichi is working on it."

"But, but what about Reborn's-"

"Shoichi is working on it," Yamamoto repeated firmly.

Kyoko said nothing. Instead, she gave Tsuna a watery smile and a sent the baseball player a dark look that Tsuna hadn't even known she was capable. Then, she was out the doors and it was just Tsuna and his Rain Guardian.

Tsuna had the feeling that everyone was hiding something important from him, and it all had to do with this stupid war that they were supposed to be fighting.

"Yamamoto," Tsuna said, his voice low and cautious. He didn't want to mess this up. "Yamamoto, _what_ in the _hell_ is going?"

It wasn't like Tsuna to be assertive. Even Tsuna himself recognized that. He was timid from years of bullying and, unless he was in Hyper Dying Will Mode, he had a hard time telling people exactly what it was he wanted to happen. He couldn't always get his words to form sentences the way he needed them to, the way he wanted them to. He could never encroach upon a subject that seemed too off limits unless a life or death situation arose, and that didn't happen too often (although it was happening more and more often than he'd liked lately).

But _this_. _This _may not have been life or death, but _this_ wasn't something Tsuna was going to leave alone anymore. Not after finding out that Kyoko was _here_. In _Italy_.

Yamamoto hesitated. Tsuna didn't blame him, but he was getting impatient. He needed to know what the heck was happening in this time. He...he-he had to-

_Had to what_? Fix it? Tsuna wasn't any good at that. His life was dangerous and meddling in something he had no right meddling in would probably only lead to disaster. Tsuna didn't fix things. Others fixed what Tsuna messed up. He was _Dame_-_Tsuna_, for crying out loud. He couldn't fix this.

But he wanted to. He didn't want to be protected any longer. It seemed only right that he tried to fix this, even if he didn't know what _this_ really was. The most he knew was that he was trapped in a war torn era two years from home. But he wanted to fix this. To prevent this war. To prevent Kyoko and Haru having to leave their homes. To prevent becoming something that made Gokudera act so...so _hostile_ towards him. He just wanted everything to be right with the world again. Was it so wrong to want that?

He just wanted to go home.

The feeling of homesickness was so overwhelming that Tsuna immediately clutched his stomach. He was nauseous, but swallowed down his sick feeling in favor of listening to Yamamoto, who had faced him with determination shining in his eyes. Finally, he was going to get answers.

"Listen, Tsuna. I was going to tell you this earlier, but I sort of chickened out," Yamamoto admitted, putting the plate of food on the floor. "It's about your training. What you're really doing it for."

"What I'm doing it for?" Tsuna asked. "Aren't I just doing it so I can help you guys fight?"

Yamamoto sighed wearily, rubbing a thoughtful hand along his chin. "In a way, yes, you are. But there's also another reason."

"This...This isn't going to be like the Ring Trial, is it?" Tsuna asked weakly, remembering a different time in a different future. He had been trapped, losing oxygen, and all the while forced to face his ancestors' sins as they demanding he accepted the horrific past of the Vongola. He hoped it wouldn't be anything like _that_ power up.

"No. No, nothing like that," Yamamoto reassured. "But you said you just came back from the future. That means the rings have just been released and you have no idea how to control its power. That's the reason you're training."

"To learn how to control the Vongola Ring's power?" Tsuna asked, confused. "But if that's what I'm doing, than why is Hibari having me fight _without_ using Hyper Dying Will Mode? If he wanted me to adjust to the ring's power, shouldn't he have me _using_ it?"

"It's not that simple," Yamamoto explained. "I've already undergone the training needed to adjust to the Rain Ring's power in this time, and so has your older self. Reborn and Hibari know what they're doing."

"I wish _I_ knew," Tsuna muttered.

He was so tired of feeling left out of everything. Of feeling like he didn't belong. At school, before Reborn arrived, he had been No-Good Tsuna. _Dame-Tsuna_. He didn't fit in and no one wanted to be his friend. Then Reborn came and then he had no place among his peers at school and he never would. His future ruled his life.

Back then, at least he'd had his friends with him. Then he was thrown into a future and, again, he felt out of synch. He didn't belong in the future. He didn't belong in the mafia. But he didn't belong in a normal life anymore, either. So where did he belong?

And now it was happening again.

"That's what I'm going to tell you, Tsuna. What they're doing is building up your body's resistance again."

"Again?" Tsuna was absolutely and completely bewildered now.

Yamamoto nodded. "You remember the Dying Will bullet, right? How it built up your resistance to the Dying Will Flame? Well, it's the pretty much the same concept. Hibari and Reborn will train you to be able to hold yourself in normal combat, and when you can do that, you learn to fight them while they are using Dying Will Flames and you aren't. Raising your resistance to the flames. After that you train to use the Vongola Ring properly."

Tsuna shook his head, Yamamoto's words running through them again and again. Him? Fight without being in Hyper Dying Will Mode? Against Hibari and Reborn? There was no way. There was just no way he could do all that in a-

Tsuna faltered. Looking at Yamamoto despairingly, he spoke the dangerous thought that plagued him. "R-Reborn said that I had to be ready in a...in a month."

Yamamoto winced, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yeah," the baseball player said, his voice quiet, but he immediately perked up, giving Tsuna a reassuring smile. "It only took you two months last time, so I think it will all work out. After all, you're amazing sometimes, Tsuna."

Tsuna should have been comforted by his best friend's words. He should have been happy that Yamamoto believed him, but it just felt like pushing. Everyone was pushing him and he was getting closer and closer to the ledge, even though he knew he wasn't ready to fly just yet, His wings weren't ready. Not this soon.

_You have to fall before you fly_. It was a saying that Tsuna hated. He hated it. How could you fly when you were so broken after falling the first twenty times? You couldn't fly on broken wings.

"I'm not like you guys," Tsuna said, his voice strained as he tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall. He felt so bitter. "I don't know how you guys are getting through this without losing your minds, because I'm slowly going insane." The boy clutched at his hair in despair.

"Tsuna." Yamamoto's voice was soft and gentle, but did nothing to calm his frantic, panicking mind. "It's okay. We're here for you. If you ever need help you know you can rely on us."

"Really?" Tsuna chuckled mirthlessly. "Wanna go take a good look at Gokudera-kun and tell me if that's really true? Because, so far, I think only you and Onii-san have treated me like me and not like I'm somebody else."

"That's not true, Tsuna," Yamamoto said. "Reborn-"

"Reborn looks right through me whenever we speak. It's like he's talking to me, but at the same time, he really isn't seeing me for who I am. I didn't notice it at first, but after yesterday in the elevator, it's like everything got confused. It's when everyone started to act so different."

Yamamoto didn't say anything and looked rather pained, so Tsuna knew he had struck a chord.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"Tsuna-"

"No! I-I don't need them! Reborn, Gokudera-kun, I don't need them. Not these ones! They look at me like I should be somebody else and I just can't- I don't want- I can't take it anymore! Hibari does it, too! It's only you and Onii-san that I can rely on."

Tsuna was panting by the time he had finished his rant, eyes wild and nervous. The weight pushing him towards the edge hadn't eased and he felt horrible for saying what he had, but he didn't take it back. In a way it was true. They didn't see him as Tsuna, so he wouldn't see them as his friends. It made things easier.

"Tsuna, you don't mean that, do you?" Yamamoto asked, eyes uncertain. "They miss the other Tsuna as much as you miss the Guardians that are back in the past. Present, for you."

"But they-"

"I get that they aren't treating you as if you are yourself," Yamamoto said softly, although, his amber eyes had sharpened, "but you aren't treating them as if they are who they are, either. Every single one of you are confused and want things to go back to normal, but things don't happen that way. It takes time, and if you want to get back to your original time, you need to learn to trust us. We may not be the same as you remember, but that's because this is your _future_. Things change and you can't blame them for something they have no control over, just like they shouldn't blame you for being here. We're all confused, but we have to get through this. Together."

Tsuna was speechless. Gone was his earlier anger, and in its place was a sadness that left his throat burning and his chest tightening. Tears threatened to fall as he realized how _right_ Yamamoto was. He couldn't blame them for treating him like he wasn't Tsuna, because they didn't know him. He was different than who they were used to interacting with. He was as different to them as they were to him. He couldn't blame his friends for that.

Sniffling, Tsuna put his hands over his face. He exhaled deeply to calm himself down. This conversation wouldn't go anywhere if he kept sniveling like Lambo did when he was five years old and Reborn had kicked him and his grenades out the window.

"Thank you, Yamamoto," Tsuna said, uncovering his face to peer at his older friend. "I-I'll try to keep that in mind. And I'll try my best with training. But first-"

"You want to know about the war."

* * *

"I'm done."

Yamamoto warily watched the brunet pace the length of the room, unsure if he should stop him or not. "Done...with what exactly?" he asked.

"I want to go home. Let me go home. I'm not fighting a war I know nothing about. I'll fix this there."

Reborn wasn't amused, his onyx eyes following the brunet's pacing with annoyance. The hitman had slipped in after Tsuna had promised to try his best with training and had interrupted the brunet before the conversation could go any farther, effectively startling both Yamamoto and Tsuna by stating exactly what Tsuna wanted.

"_You want to know about the war."_

_Tsuna and Yamamoto were both startled into silence, gazes snapping to the hitman at the door._

"_Well, I'm right, aren't I?" Tsuna nodded and Reborn hummed, smirking as he continued, "Thought so. Nice try, but you're going to have to better than that if you want to know what's going on."_

Which led to Tsuna getting up in irritation and beginning to pace back and forth. Yamamoto couldn't exactly blame the brunet, but he also knew that Tsuna still had some healing up to do, especially since he'd spent the morning with Hibari.

Reborn crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to his place by the door. "Dame-Tsuna, don't you think that if we could send you back, we would have? You aren't exactly the person we need to win this war. And besides, how do you plan to fix something you have no knowledge of."

Tsuna scratched the back of his head, irritation written across his face. At least he wasn't regressing back into that panicky state the baseball player worked so hard to pull him out of.

Yamamoto forced a small laugh, trying to ease the tension a little. "Shoichi's working on it, Tsuna," Yamamoto placated.

"That's not good enough!" Tsuna exclaimed, abruptly stopping his pacing. He spun around to jab a finger at stoic Reborn. And at least Tsuna was treating Reborn the same. Yamamoto was grateful that he had somewhat gotten through to the boy. "I want answers from you! Even when we were fighting Byakuran, you didn't keep the reason we were fighting a secret! I knew who the enemy was then! Why don't I know now?!"

"Mah, mah, Tsuna," Yamamoto said, his brow pinching in worry as he held up his hands in placation. "Maybe you should calm down a little-"

"Don't even start with me, Yamamoto!" Tsuna growled. Yamamoto, taken aback, let his hands fall to his lap. Just as soon as he eased Tsuna's mind, Reborn had come in and ignited the spark again. "You aren't telling me anything either!"

"Don't take this out on Takeshi, Tsuna," Reborn snapped. "He's following my orders. I _told_ him not to tell you anything on the off chance that we _could_ find a way to send you back to your time. You should be grateful to him that he told you anything."

"And what good will that do?!" Tsuna cried, hands twisting into his spiky locks. The boy leaned back against the wall, sliding down until he hit the floor. From there, he curled in on himself and tucked his head in his arms, resting them on his knees. He looked pitiful.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said gently, unsure whether he was calling out to the boy or trying to reassure himself that this was his best friend, confused and overwhelmed and homesick.

"I just want to go home," Tsuna croaked.

This wasn't the time that Tsuna belonged in, but they had no way to bring him back to his peaceful time and he was stuck in a time ravaged by a war, trapped here without actually knowing what was going on.

From his place by the door, Reborn sighed. "Irie is doing his best to get you back to your own time, but for now, we need a leader."

"Why can't you be the leader?" Tsuna asked miserably, not bothering to lift his head. "I don't even know why we're fighting."

"I'm not the Decimo," Reborn reminded him, pushing away from the wall and moving to crouch in front of the boy.

Yamamoto, still unsure about this whole situation, stayed put. Even though Yamamoto had gotten Tsuna to trust the others, he had no place in whatever this was. This was Reborn's and Tsuna's to work out.

"Neither am I," Tsuna sniffled, pulling his head up to look his tutor in the eye. "It wasn't me who became the Tenth. I haven't done it yet."

Yamamoto felt sorry for the boy. He had known way back when that Tsuna hadn't wanted to become the boss of the Vongola Family. He had refused to accept the truth, even when it was thrown right into his face and he had batted it away with everything he had. And yet, nothing he had done made any difference with Reborn there to keep things going. It had been a battle of wills, and unfortunately for Tsuna, Reborn had won.

"Maybe not, but there's a plan, and we need you to be able to control the rings in order to carry it out," Reborn explained. "Just in case we can't figure out how to get you home in time."

At this, Yamamoto's brow furrowed. He knew the plan to some degree, but what he didn't know was why it had to be executed in a month. Today was the second of October and they only had twenty-nine more days before they needed to carry it out in time. Before, that hadn't been a problem. Now, though, they had a younger Tsuna who had no clue how to control the resonance of the rings.

The more Yamamoto thought about this, the more his brain hurt. He sighed, turning back to the student and teacher's conversation when he heard Tsuna mirror his line of thinking.

"Why a month?"

"It has something to do with the weather," Reborn said, his answer vague and evasive.

_He's trying to keep the younger Tsuna from doing something stupid_, Yamamoto thought, but immediately backtracked. If that were the reason for Reborn hiding the reasoning behind the chosen date, then that would mean Reborn was keeping everyone but Gokudera and Shoichi from doing something stupid.

Tsuna looked skeptical. "That doesn't make any sense. Why choose a month? Isn't that Halloween?"

Reborn shrugged. "I'm not the one who chose the date. The Decimo did."

"_I did_?!" Tsuna asked, looking positively puzzled with this new development. Yamamoto was just glad the young teen didn't look like he was about to he was about to cry again. As far as he saw it, that was progress. Tsuna thought that over before he sighed, exasperated. "Of course I did. What _didn't_ I do?"

"You didn't cook," Yamamoto supplied helpfully, a smile playing on his lips. "Kyoko and Haru were absolutely horrified the first time you tried. I'm pretty sure Hayato was the only one who managed to swallow more than one bite of that fettuccine alfredo."

Tsuna laughed softly and Yamamoto felt his spirits rise. At least he could still get Tsuna to smile. The boy deserved some laughs after what he'd been overwhelmed with.

"Kyoko-chan and Haru..." Tsuna said suddenly, his smile falling and his voice dropping in volume. His sudden uncertainness caused both Yamamoto and Reborn to stiffen. "Why are they here? Shouldn't they be back in Japan?"

"The war isn't just in Italy, Tsuna," Reborn explained. "It's everywhere. In every country the Vongola had a base or left its influence. These guys want more than to get rid of the Vongola Family, they want to eradicate it."

"We when first found out what was going, we pulled out," Yamamoto said, unsure how he was supposed to put Tsuna at ease when he was about to say something so serious. "Everything was a mess, but you managed to get mostly everyone back to Italy. And because you needed to be here too, you made sure that everyone connected to you came with you. We didn't want another Vongola Hunt."

"So that's why Kyoko-chan and Haru are here?" Tsuna asked, blinking rapidly, as if holding back tears. "But...if Kyoko-chan is here, what about Mom? Is she here, too?"

"Yes," Reborn said, causing Tsuna's attention to shift to the hitman. "Everyone is here. Everyone's family. All of our allies. Even Kurokawa Hana is here."

"Then why haven't I seen them?"

"You're not allowed on the twelfth floor," Reborn said.

"What?"

Yamamoto laughed nervously. "Well, we wouldn't want things to get too difficult, do we?"

"Is that what Kyoko-chan was talking about?" Tsuna asked. "When she came in here? Gokudera-kun said she wasn't supposed to be in here. What did you guys tell them? How many people know I'm here?"

"Well," Reborn drawled, finally standing from his crouch. Tsuna quickly followed his example. "So far it's your Guardians, me, Shoichi and Spanner, Fuuta, and Kyoko. That's it."

"And as for your other questions," Yamamoto said, raising a challenging eyebrow at Reborn, and when the hitman just smirked, Yamamoto continued, "We told everybody else you're undergoing serious planning and training. They're not to step foot above floor fifteen since everything will be highly confidential. Think of it like a game."

"This is pointless." Reborn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Tsuna, I need your answer," he said, steering the three off topic.

Tsuna looked startled by the abrupt change. "What answer? What's the question?"

"Are you going to cooperate with us?" Reborn asked. "Are you going to help us?"

"But I don't even know what I'm helping you with!"

"I'll make you a deal," Reborn said.

Everything came to a halting stop. Yamamoto and Tsuna were both immediately on guard by this statement because everyone who knew anything knew that _Reborn didn't make deals_. Reborn was someone who got what he wanted, even if he had to resort to using force. He got his way and hated to compromise.

"If you help us out, then, if we can't get you home in time, I _will_ tell you the plan."

Yamamoto sighed. That was the lousiest compromise he had ever heard, and that was saying something because he had spent years with Hayato Gokudera. The absolute worst at compromising. It wasn't going to be enough for Tsuna.

"Reborn! How the hell does that make me want to help you out?!"

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said gently, intending on making this deal more desirable. "If you can help us out, then we'll keep you up to date with everything going on. You'll be included in the planning and you'll know everything that we do about the war.

"But," Yamamoto interrupted before Tsuna could open his mouth, "you need to try during training and you'll need to take up the reins the other you left behind. Believe it or not, we need a leader and the Vongola isn't going to follow anybody but the Decimo."

"But I'm not-"

"You are in this time," Reborn reminded him. "Which is one reason why I can't lead. Nobody would follow me."

Tsuna looked ready to argue his point, but Yamamoto cut in before Tsuna could anything further. He was desperate to make Tsuna understand this predicament.

"Tsuna, these people believe in the Decimo. And even if you aren't the Tenth yet, it doesn't change the fact that you will be. The Vongola Family needs a leader and you are the only person who can lead."

Tsuna's shoulders slumped in defeat and Yamamoto couldn't help but feel a little guilty. In a way, he was doing the exact same thing as the others were. He might have seen this Tsuna and their Tsuna as different people, but it didn't mean he wasn't pushing Tsuna to do something he didn't want to, just like everyone else.

"Do we have a deal, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, hand held out casually.

Yamamoto watched as Tsuna lifted his hand cautiously up to fit it into Reborn's waiting palm. They shook hands. Outwardly, it appeared like nothing happened, but to Yamamoto, it seemed as if Tsuna was suddenly shouldering a weight that was far too heavy for him to hold.

"Yeah," Tsuna said, his voice quiet and resigned. "We have a deal."

* * *

"Is this really how it's going to work out?" Kyoko asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Gokudera shook his head, glancing at the golden-haired girl from the corner of his eye. They were standing outside the Tenth's room where Reborn, Yamamoto, and the younger version of the Tenth had been arguing.

Gokudera's head spun with the all of the traitorous things that were happening around him. How could they make a deal like _that_ with the boy who had sent the Tenth away? How could this boy possibly lead them against an enemy he knew nothing about?

"I'm not sure," Gokudera finally said, "but I hope for everyone's sake that it doesn't."

"I think everyone, even Tsuna, hopes that this isn't going to have to work out like this," Reborn commented once the door closed behind him. Gokudera jumped, not realizing that the hitman had stepped out of the Tenth's room.

"Reborn-san, I-"

Reborn waved him off. "I know why you're both still here and I'm going to tell you now that we don't have time to waste in this. My sources tell me that the Argine is still planning to converge in one month, despite what they have done. It gives us some breathing room, but we don't have time to waste in debating over what we're going to do. We have to do this or it's all over. We both know that."

Gokudera squared his jaw, feeling put off. "This plan was created for the _Tenth_ to carry out. The resonance won't work if we don't have the Tenth controlling it."

Kyoko piped up next. "Reborn-kun. I know I'm not really involved in all of this, but Tsuna-kun told me the plan. If it's the Tsuna-kun from the past, I don't think he will be able to pull it off. Even our Tsuna-kun couldn't fully control it when you tried it last. Everyone got so hurt and-"

"We don't have a choice," Reborn said, his tone telling the two that this wasn't up for debate. "If we can't pull this off then we're all done for."

* * *

"Sir, are you sure about this?"

The man didn't so much as twitch at his subordinate's words, but to his subordinate's credit, he didn't falter under the heavy glare the man was scrutinizing him with. Finally, the man leaned back into the leather chair, apparently unable to find whatever he was looking for.

"Of course I am," the man snapped, waving a dismissive hand. "If this really happened the way you said it did, then we no longer need to hope to get the Vongola Rings before the month's over. The Vongola will be powerless when we converge together anyways and we will have won this war once and for all."

The subordinate bowed deeply. "If you're certain, sir."

And with that, the subordinate left, leaving the man in the high backed chair and the silent woman next to the desk.

The man sighed. "What is it? You're too quiet."

"I do not think it wise to underestimate them," the woman said, her posture stiff and her tone even more so. "The Decimo took over the Vongola Mantle at age sixteen and has successfully led an army for four months, despite his inexperience. What's to say the Vongola hasn't been weakened like we had hoped?"

"You're new to this," the man said, arrogance letting a slight smirk dance on his lips. "I've been planning this for two years, ever since those brats destroyed everything that I worked my whole life for. I know the Decimo better than you think. He used to be timid and stutter over his own words. Could barely think for himself. That's why I know that two years will be enough."

"What could a weakling like that do to _you_?" the woman asked in disbelief.

The man hummed, tapping his fingers on the desk in barely concealed agitation. "He's the reason my whole world died right in front of my eyes. Him and that stupid earthquake he caused."

The woman said nothing more on the subject. She only held up a clipboard. "You have an appointment in half an hour."

"Oh? With who?"

"The Bucking Bronco."

The man smirked. "Well, this is sure to be interesting. Bring him straight in when he arrives."

_So, the Vongola has made their move after all_.

* * *

**Spiral Reflection** \- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you think the plot is getting interesting. It's going to start picking up in the next couple chapters. I hope you liked this chapter!

**StoneLily** \- What happened to older Tsuna comes in the next chapter, if that's what you're talking about. Hopefully this chapter answered some of your questions.

**tofldh** \- Yes, Gokudera has some...issues to work through regarding the younger Tsuna. And you'll find out what happened to future Tsuna next chapter. The big reveal comes in the next few chapters. Basically who the enemy is and why they're fighting and the future Tsuna's past, and it all ties in together. And yes, past Tsuna is in need of some serious comfort. Yamamoto tried his best, but there's still a whole month left of struggles while Tsuna trains.

Again, thanks for the reviews! I hoped you guys liked this chapter and leave me a review about what you think. The next chapter should be up soon as I'm almost finished with it. I might move my schedule to weekly after that, too, since I've had a lot of free time with school finally out.


	7. Chapter 7

After this chapter, this story will be updated every Friday (or Saturday in some places, I guess since I live on the West Coast)!

So this is the longest chapter I've written so far! This is out really soon, but I think that's because I haven't had anything to occupy my time in a couple days other than a being sick. Anyways, it's time for some reveals! Good luck with this chapter.

P.S. Before you start, just remember that 2YL!Tsuna knows Reborn better than the present Tsuna does. He's bound to react differently to what Reborn says.

Thanks to **Spiral Reflection**, **tofldh**, and **general zargon** for reviewing!

* * *

_Present_

Tsuna sighed. He couldn't remember a time where things had felt so peaceful. Lambo and I-pin crawled all over him while Fuuta and Hayato competed for his attention. On the table in front of him was actual Japanese sushi, something he hadn't had since before moving to Italy. It all felt like a dream.

"Well, Tsunayoshi," Reborn said. His voice was high-pitched and annoying. God, no wonder he thought that the Arcobaleno had really been an infant. He looked like one and sounded like one. What did it matter if he didn't act like one? "Are you going to eat? I guarantee it will make you feel better."

"Yes, Tenth! You should definitely eat something!" Hayato immediately piped up.

Had Hayato always been this agreeable? Oh god, if this kept up, Tsuna was going to go crazy. How had he stayed sane when he was constantly surrounded by this company? Tsuna's eyebrow twitched at Hayato's jovial expression. It had been a long time since he had seen that look.

"Don't call me Tsunayoshi, Reborn. It sounds weird."

"Would you rather I call you Dame-Tsuna?"

Tsuna's expression soured. "That's one I haven't heard in a while."

"Get used to it," Reborn advised. "As much as I'd like to have the other Tsuna, it looks like we're stuck with you."

"Gee, thanks," Tsuna said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I appreciate the sentiment."

It was Reborn's turn to roll his eyes. "You're too cheeky for your own good."

"And you're too disrespectful for your own good," Tsuna countered.

"To who? You?"

"I am the Decimo," Tsuna offered.

Reborn hummed. "Ah, but you're not my boss, young Decimo. You see, you are the other me's boss, not mine. I'd prefer the other Tsuna. After all, he _is_ my student."

Tsuna snorted, waving off a screeching Lambo to the front yard. "So what does that make me?"

"A future student."

"You're an asshole."

"Language, Tsunayoshi," Reborn chided as he wiped his gun down.

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you to get used to it. It's too confusing to think of you and Tsuna the same. I need something to separate the two of you."

Tsuna sighed in defeat, slumping onto the table, careful to avoid the untouched sushi. He glanced at the others around him. He watched Lambo and I-pin play tag in the front yard through the open doors for a moment before he turned to the other two. Hayato was doing that thing he did when someone asked a question and he got all mathematical and theoretical. Fuuta must have asked something since he was sitting there, listening to Hayato rant with avid attention.

If Hayato was still ranting about UMAs, did that mean he still had Bianchi-phobia? Tsuna shuddered, not really caring to find out. He didn't want to deal with Hayato being sick when he had his father coming over.

"So, when's Dad coming?" Tsuna asked, absently poking a piece of unagi with one chopstick.

"He should be here any minute," Reborn said. The hitman gave him a sharp look. "What's on your mind?"

What a question to ask. It'd be easier to say what _wasn't_ on his mind. Everything swirled around in his head and it was _confusing. _The past. His friends. His family. Everything was different than he was used to. Hell, everything about this situation was strange and overwhelming.

Instead of saying all that, Tsuna just shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just miss everyone back home."

"Is it that different?"

To a normal person, it might have seemed like an innocent question from an innocent baby. But Tsuna knew Reborn well enough to know exactly what lay hidden behind that casual demeanor. He knew that the question was careful, like the hitman was fishing for the boundary of what he could push. Tsuna had to be careful of his answer. Too much knowledge of the future could be dangerous.

"It's peaceful here," Tsuna admitted, catching the flash of the Arcobaleno's eyes. Well, looks like that failed spectacularly. So much for not giving away the future.

"What are your guardians like?"

"Hm, well they're a little more grown up," Tsuna said sheepishly. He made sure not to look Hayato's way, who he knew was listening. "It's been a tough six months for us."

"Six months?" Hayato asked curiously. They all watched Fuuta, uninterested in their conversation, run out to the yard to join the other kids.

"Oh," Tsuna said after a moment. "That's when I took over the title of Decimo."

"Who are the Argine?" Reborn asked. "I've never heard of that mafia family before. Were they created in the future?"

Tsuna was surprised and he let it show. He sat up slowly and gazed at Reborn with uncomprehending eyes. He blinked. "You mean you don't know?" he asked.

"Don't know who the Argine are? No. Hence the reason I asked," Reborn said sounding annoyed with the runaround Tsuna was giving him. Tsuna paid him no mind as he settled his elbows on the low table, dropping his chin into his right palm. "You asked about them earlier."

"When exactly am I?"

"We just arrived back from ten years in the future," Gokudera checked his watch, "six hours and twenty-three minutes ago."

"Oh. Well, that would explain a lot."

"Explain what?" Reborn asked, sounding snappish.

"Why exactly you have no clue who the Argine are."

"What I want to know," started Dr. Shamal as he stomped into the room. The doctor sounded huffy and irritated, but Tsuna didn't altogether care. The man pointed an accusing finger at the teen. "What I want to know is why the _hell_ you are up! My Trident Mosquito bit you! You should still be dead asleep!"

It was true. After only five hours, Tsuna had woken refreshed and feeling better than he had in quite a while. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since before he took up the mantle. The drug-induced sleep had done wonders—for that's what he recognized it as the moment he saw Shamal gaping down at him. There was no way he would have gotten an amazing sleep like that on his own.

But the best part was, his flames had been completely restored and Shamal , Hayato, and Reborn were left absolutely baffled. Hayato and Reborn had gotten over their shock rather quickly, but Shamal was still freaking out about it an hour later.

"I'm a magician," Tsuna grinned. "Amazing isn't it? You, the great perverted Shamal, wrong about a patient. Makes you think, doesn't it?"

"Tsuna, don't tease him," Reborn chastised.

"What? Why?" Tsuna all but scowled. "You and Hayato do it all the time!"

"Yes, but he can handle it when it comes from us," Reborn pointed out. "He doesn't know you as well. You're the one usually trying to save his feelings, as long as he's not hitting on Kyoko."

"Right." Tsuna was annoyed now. Usually around now he was either training or planning for the next hit. He almost found himself bored sitting here doing nothing but hanging out with his family. Speaking of family, "Is Takeshi coming over?"

Hayato immediately growled, "Who needs that baseball nut here. He's an idiot."

Tsuna winced, and although he thought he hid it well, he knew every single mafia-trained eye had caught it. Knowing there wasn't any point hiding it, Tsuna drummed his fingers on the table, chin still cupped in his right palm. "So Takeshi's still playing baseball, then?"

"Does he stop?" Hayato marveled, looking like he had been hit between the eyes by one of Takeshi's pitches.

"Well," Tsuna sighed, feeling exasperated and guilty and tired all at the same time. "There's quite a lot going on in the future. There wasn't any time for Takeshi to keep up with competitive baseball. Especially once we moved to Italy."

"Was Yamamoto okay with it?" Hayato asked, curiosity officially peaked. Tsuna just shrugged.

"He said he was, but I know he misses it." Switching gears, Tsuna decided to ask after the rest of his of his family. "How's Kyoya? Is he still as irritable as always?"

Hayato blanched. "_Kyoya_?"

Reborn blinked. "I think I have to agree with Gokudera on this one. Kyoya?"

"What?" Tsuna asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "What did I say?"

"You called the demon of Namimori _Kyoya_," Shamal snorted. "Good luck saying that to his face in this time."

"What? Why?"

Tsuna felt annoyed. Something was prodding him in the back of his mind, begging for his attention. Irritably, he mentally swatted it away. The peace was getting to him, making him antsy.

He shifted a little, put his hands behind him for support and he leaned back. This was his family, but at the same time, it wasn't and it was disorientating him. Every war-ingrained instinct was revolting against him as he sat here idly, chatting about nothing, and yet he couldn't stop. He had missed doing this with his family. Everything in his time had been all go go go. It was nice to just sit and relax for once.

"Hibari only lets Dino call him that because he doesn't see him as an herbivore," Reborn reminded him. "If he let you call him that in the future, that means you can beat him."

"Of course," Tsuna nodded. "And I'm sure soon, I'll be able to beat Dino, too."

Okay, so maybe that was a little of a stretch. It would most likely be some time before he could even get close to beating his surrogate older brother, but it was nice to think about.

Reborn chuckled. "Hibari's fine. And before you ask, Ryohei's fine, too. Just as energetic as always."

"And Chrome and Mukuro?"

There was silence from all three.

"_And Mukuro_?!" Hayato exploded.

Tsuna sighed. "Yes. And Mukuro. He helped in the future with Byakuran, Hayato, didn't he? Would it be wrong to count him among my family?"

Hayato was caught off guard. "Well, if the Tenth is sure," he finally muttered.

"Mukuro is still in Vendicare," Reborn answered. "Chrome is unaccounted for, although, she's probably gone back to Kokuyo Land to find Ken and Chikusa."

Tsuna looked around the quiet house, listening to the kids screaming jovially, the clocking ticking softly, the washer humming gently in the other room, the door getting kicked in-

Tsuna was on his feet in an instant, silently cursing to himself in Italian. He had been lulled into a false sense of security by the peace. He'd thought that being in this time wasn't going to be a problem. That he'd just sit back and relax and wait until he could get back to the future and execute the resonance plan-

"Damn it all," he yelled out loud, startling Hayato, who had strangely not moved at the sound of the door being kicked in. He would think about _that_ mistake later after he took care of...his father?

Tsuna stared at the blond Italian and the blond Italian stared at him right back. Annoyed with the whole situation in general, Tsuna plopped back down onto the floor, slumping back onto the table. Did they _have _to kick the door in? He had been enjoying his false sense of security.

"I don't think kicking the door in was necessary, Iemitsu," Reborn said, unknowingly mirroring Tsuna's thoughts. Or maybe he had done it knowingly. One never knew with the hitman. "Now we're going to have to replace it."

Iemitsu blinked owlishly from the doorway of the small living room, gazing at the inhabitants as if they were beings from another world, which, considering the existence of alternate worlds, actually wasn't too far off from Tsuna's situation.

"Tsuna...yoshi?"

Tsuna groaned. "I thought we established that we weren't going to call me that."

"And I thought we established that you had to get used to it."

"Dad wasn't even here when you said that so he doesn't have to follow that rule."

"It wasn't a rule until just now, Tsunayoshi, and also," Reborn smirked, "he wasn't in the room when you told me you didn't want to be called that. He's your father and you don't have much say in what he calls you."

"Did I already tell you you're an asshole?"

"Yes."

"Well, I didn't mean it. You're a bastard with no regard for what the young people want these days."

"I was under the impression that I was an infant."

"And I was under the impression that you were an Arcobaleno."

Reborn hummed, taking a sip of the espresso that he had definitely not had before Iemitsu had walked in. Speaking of Iemitsu... Tsuna let his gaze drift to the gaping man watching his son bicker with the hitman.

"Ts-Tsuna?"

"Not really," Reborn said.

"I am, too!" Tsuna countered. "Just because you have me and the other Tsuna sorted into 'Tsuna' and 'Tsunayoshi" does_ not_ mean that I'm not Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

"And yet, you don't act like a timid pigeon being stalked by a cat anymore," Reborn commented after a long sip from his espresso. "By my standards, that means you really aren't Tsuna."

Tsuna snorted. "I don't think your standards count for much in this situation."

Iemitsu looked to Shamal, his eyes wary. "What's going on?! Why is everyone so calm?!"

Shamal snorted. "They've been doing this for the past hour. It's sort of amusing, in my opinion. Hayato, on the other hand, is absolutely horrified. Not at all calm. He keeps waiting for an opportunity to jump and defend his boss but chickens out at the last second because he's too afraid of Reborn shooting his ears off or something."

On the contrary, it looked to Tsuna like Iemitsu wanted to shoot someone. "Someone tell me what's going on before I lose it."

Tsuna sighed and waved his father over. "Come on, Dad. Looks like we have a lot to talk about."

"I'm not moving until one of you explains why my son is not here and a Tsuna from the future is sitting in his place," Iemitsu snapped.

Tsuna shrugged. "What if I'm not actually in his place," Tsuna wondered. "He could be sitting where Hayato is sitting right now-"

"Tsunayoshi!" Iemitsu barked, causing Tsuna to jump slightly. So, maybe he had overdone it a bit with the sarcastic remarks.

Reborn twitched in annoyance. "Lay off him, Iemitsu. How would you be feeling if you were suddenly thrown into a past you hardly remember. It's a coping mechanism and I'm just trying to make him feel comfortable. It was either entertain him or have him antsing around the house while he worried about what's happening in the future."

"Is antsing even a word?" Tsuna muttered. Reborn shot him a look and Tsuna shut his mouth. He wasn't making this any better. "Right, well, Dad's here, so are you ready to hear my life story?"

Reborn opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Tsuna's father cut him off.

"No." Everyone looked at Iemitsu, bewildered. The man's jaw was set as he watched his not-son sit up warily.

"No?"

"No," Iemitsu repeated. "I don't care what _your_ situation is-"

"_Iemitsu!_" Shamal yelled, standing to face the man. Tsuna just stared at his father, wondering if the moment he blinked Iemitsu would fade away into nothingness.

"Tsuna's still your son, Iemitsu," Reborn said dangerously, "even if he's from the future. He being from a different time doesn't mean you can skirt you responsibility yet _again-_"

"Where's Basil?" Tsuna interrupted, feeling oddly blank. Blank and emotionless. "And Lal? You brought them, didn't you?"

Iemitsu held Tsuna's empty gaze with caution. "They're patrolling. Why?"

Tsuna shrugged, refusing to look away from his father. "I was curious, that's all."

"Tell me what happened six months, Tsuna," Reborn said abruptly, calling Tsuna's attention to himself and away from the CEDEF head. Tsuna blinked suddenly and his vision seemed to brighten. Funny. He hadn't noticed when everything seemed to start going dark. "You were acting like it was nothing, but something happened the day you took the mantle, didn't it? I can tell by reactions."

Tsuna nodded, thinking back to that day. "I think that's the day Sawada Tsunayoshi died."

* * *

"_Are you ready?" Reborn asked as he leaned over Tsuna, gripping his shoulders as they both looked into the mirror. Tsuna self-consciously checked over everything. Today was the day he would take over the Vongola mantle and officially become the Decimo. Today was the day he would accept his fate as the Tenth boss of the Vongola Family._

"_I think so," Tsuna said, gently tugging at the knot of his tie. It felt like he was being strangled by the silky material, even though he knew he was able to breathe just fine. He was so nervous that he was imagining being choked to death by his own clothing. "I just don't know if I can handle being in front of all those eyes. _Everyone_ is going to be there."_

_Reborn chuckled lightly. "You'll be fine."_

_There was a gentle knock on the door before Hayato entered quietly. "Tenth?"_

_Tsuna turned to face the silver-haired teen, smoothing out his suit. He faltered when he saw the bomber's concerned look. Stepping forward, Tsuna reached out towards his friend. "What is it, Hayato? What's wrong?"_

"_It's the Ninth."_

"_Grandpa?" Tsuna asked. "What happened?"_

"_He was shot."_

_There was a beat of silence before all hell broke loose._

"_I'll kill them," Reborn growled. "I will _kill_ whoever shot Nono and there will be no mercy."_

_Tsuna backed away from Reborn and into the wall. His face perfectly mirrored how horrified and distraught he felt. This couldn't really be happening, could it? The Ninth couldn't have been shot. He just couldn't have._

"_Reborn," Tsuna whispered. "What do we do? Do we go find the Ninth or-"_

_Reborn cocked his gun. "I'm going to kill that bastard with my own two hands. I will pump him full of bullets. Where is he, Gokudera?" the hitman snarled fiercely. _

_Hayato's face hardened. "He got away. The Ninth's guardians are after him now. I'm here to get the Tenth out of here. We're to rendezvous with Hibari and Sasagawa at the closest safe house as soon as Yamamoto gets here."_

"_But what about...what about Kyoko-chan? And Haru? And Mom? And Fuuta and Lambo and I-pin?" Tsuna asked. "They're all still in the hall!"_

_They had all come to support him taking the title of Decimo. Even his mother, who hardly knew what was happening, knew this day was important and just wanted to be there to support her son. This day had planned to perfection to keep the civilians safe, what had gone wrong?_

"_We have to leave them, Tenth," Hayato said quietly. "We can't take them with us and leave everyone else in there. It isn't fair to our allies."_

"_But they're my family!" Tsuna argued._

"_Gokudera's right," Reborn scowled. "Your Family may be important but your safety is the top priority right now."_

_That's when Tsuna grew angry. He wasn't just angry, he was furious. This was coming from the man who had told him that his family was worth more than his own life. Reborn had taught to treasure his family, and now he was supposed to throw all that away because he was in danger? "Reborn! I'm not going to-"_

_Something hit the back of his neck and suddenly Tsuna was pitching forward, his vision growing dark. And despite falling unconscious, he could still hear the quiet "oomph" when Hayato caught his limp form. He could still hear Reborn's quiet, "Don't let him out of your sight." His consciousness wavered a moment before he fell completely into the bliss._

_He woke up with his heart pounding in his ears and his neck and head throbbing. Groggily, he sat himself up, only to find himself in a bed that was definitely _not_ in a bedroom in the Vongola Mansion, which just left the safe house. That meant Takeshi had arrived and he and Hayato had carried Tsuna to the safe house while he had been unconscious. Tsuna swore in Japanese. This wasn't good._

_Hayato, startled by Tsuna's impromptu swearfest, peered over at him worriedly. "Are you okay, Tenth?"_

"_Where's Reborn?" Tsuna demanded, hands forming fists as anger settled in. "The bastard better be ready to pay for this."_

_Hayato looked away, unsettled. "I'm sorry, Tenth. I should have been able to save Sasagawa and Haru and Sawada-san, but I wasn't able to do anything."_

"_Gokudera," Takeshi reprimanded from where he had just entered the safe house, dripping wet. "You're scaring Tsuna talking that way." Takeshi turned to Tsuna, his gaze softening. "Hibari took care of everything. Everyone's safe in the mansion. They swept the area and it was only the one guy."_

_Tsuna should have felt relief at that. His precious family was safe after all, but he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with guilt. He had left them there. He had abandoned them. And it couldn't ever happen again._

"_Where's Reborn?" Tsuna asked Takeshi pleadingly. "Please."_

_Takeshi shook his head. "I don't know."_

_The door slammed open, letting in the downpour as the newcomer stood in the downpour, not bothered at all that he was soaked. "The carnivore headed into the Vongola forest to cut off the shooter," Hibari supplied helpfully._

_Tsuna stood up and made for the door. Takeshi caught his wrist, looking pained. "Tsuna. No, please don't go. He shot the Ninth."_

"_Reborn's still out there," Tsuna said firmly. He wasn't going to abandon his family ever again. Not ever again would he let them fend for themselves. "I can't leave him."_

"_I will go with the herbivore," Hibari offered. "Stay here and wait for orders like we're supposed to. If they ask, tell them the herbivore's still asleep."_

"_Please," Tsuna added. Both Takeshi and Hayato looked uncomfortable with the situation, but nodded nonetheless. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I owe you one."_

_Tsuna and Hibari were gone a second later, sprinting into the forest that surrounded the Vongola mansion. Throwing all caution to the wind, the two surged forwards, Tsuna desperate to find his tutor at all cost._

_They found Reborn quite easily. He had the man pinned to the ground, a gun shoved up against the man's jugular, effectively cutting off the man's breathing. Tsuna, horrified, rushed over to them, pulling at Reborn's sleeve. The gun was immediately turned on him, Reborn's onyx gaze unreadable as his focused on Tsuna's terrified face._

"_Tsuna?" Reborn asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"_

"_What the hell am _I_ doing here? What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Tsuna practically sobbed. "You caught him already, so don't kill him."_

"_He deserves to die. He killed the Ninth."_

_Tsuna's eyes widened. "But...But I thought that he was okay. Just shot. No one said anything about killing..."_

"_The Ninth's dead because of this man," Reborn repeated, shoving the gun back against the man's throat, fingering the trigger. "And he plans to come after you and Mama next."_

_Tsuna's gaze fractured and suddenly he was surrounded by scenarios of himself dying and those _looks_ that his future guardians had given him when they saw him alive. He saw his mother's lifeless body. He saw a shiny black coffin with the Vongola Seal carved onto it, a roman numeral nine marking it as Nono's as it was lowered into the ground. And then the numeral was all he could see._

IX.

_But then he saw something else. Something that made him cringe. Reborn was looking down at the man, gun shoved down the man's throat and the hitman pulled the trigger-_

"_No!" Tsuna shouted, coming back to pull on his tutor's sleeve. "Just because he was threatening us and he shot the Ninth, doesn't mean he deserves to die. A life doesn't equal a life, Reborn!"_

"_I'm a hitman, Tsuna. This is the mafia. What did you expect would happen when you took over the mantle? That people would just stop dying? That it would all immediately change because you're there to fix everything? You can't fix everything and you can't change the mafia."_

"_I-I-" Tsuna had no words to describe the overwhelming sensation that seemed to engulf him. He stood there like a scared little kid, trembling as he clutched onto Reborn's soaked suit jacket. This wasn't right._

_The man below suddenly chuckled. "I heard that the Decimo was weak, but I didn't realize just how weak he was until now," the man sneered as much as he could with Reborn choking him with his gun._

_Reborn scowled. "You will pay for what you did, you bastard!"_

"_Reborn, no!" Tsuna yelled. "I can't watch this again! Watching Vongola's sins was enough!"_

"_This is the _mafia_, Tsuna!"_

"_And I promised Primo I would change it! This is not the way!"_

_The man chuckled. "Well, if you don't kill me, then I'll just blow everyone up."_

_Tsuna's gaze snapped to the man pinned underneath Reborn. "What?" he whispered, his voice hoarse. What was this guy talking about?_

"_What do you mean?" Reborn demanded. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Th-The mansion will go up in flames at nineteen hundred. I have the trigger in my mouth, and I can't exactly trigger it while I'm dead."_

"_Why are you telling us this?" Reborn asked._

"_Call it a challenge, if you will," the man spat out. "I just want to see the Decimo will choose his morals over his Family-"_

_The man was dead with a broken neck before he knew it. Reborn, startled, looked to Tsuna as the boy dropped to his knees, but Tsuna was too busy staring down at his hands in horror to notice. His hands trembled more and more the longer he looked at them, realization setting in._

"_Herbivore!"_

"_Tsuna!"_

_Tsuna ignored them and gaped at the sight of his own hands—the hands that had taken a man's life in less than a second. There was no blood staining his hands, and yet he couldn't help but feel that there really was. He had murdered a man and he knew that the Sawada Tsunayoshi that had promised to destroy the mafia's way of life was no more, leaving a stranger in his place._

* * *

No one spoke after Tsuna had finished talking, and really, Tsuna didn't blame them. When faced with a story like that, how could you stand to speak to a family member turned murderer? He stared down at his palms, seeing nothing but blood there. He may try to forget that incident, but in truth, it fueled his every action.

"The man was a member of the Argine Family," Tsuna said. "His death was the reason for the war starting. So, I guess you could say it was my fault that we're at war. I killed him."

Tsuna was prepared for his family to scream at him, to hit him, to stomp out of the room and never speak to him again, to _hate_ him. What he wasn't prepared for was Hayato to get to his feet and _throw_ himself onto Tsuna, toppling them both to the floor.

"H-Hayato?"

Hayato wrapped his arms around Tsuna's neck. "I'm _so_ sorry, Tenth. It was all my fault! If I had focused on getting everyone out of the mansion, then you wouldn't have felt obligated to kill that man. I don't know what my future self was thinking, but I promise that I'll be a better right hand man!"

Tsuna was stunned. Hayato didn't hate him. He had _hugged_ him. He was _blaming himself_ for everything that had happened. For everything that had been beyond his control. For something that, to him, hadn't happened yet.

Reborn smirked into his espresso, although Tsuna could tell the hitman was a little shaken as well. "Well, Dame-Tsuna, looks like you could use a breather."

Tsuna chuckled softly, still a little breathless from reliving that horrible moment. "What? You're actually going to give me a break? No weird training involved? No master plan? No scheme to get me and my family to act more functional?"

Reborn didn't say anything to that, but his smirk grew into something more like a fond smile. Tsuna, for some reason, felt lighter. _They didn't blame him_. They had accepted him.

Iemitsu was bawling. "My Tuna Fish had to go through something so scary!" he sobbed into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Tuna! Papa will do better in the future!"

Tsuna really wasn't sure how to react to all of this emotion. He was kind of glad he was still lying on the floor. He felt more grounded than he had in a long time. Hayato was hugging him, Reborn was smiling, and Iemitsu was crying. Now all they needed was for Shamal to start tap dancing and they'd be all set for the train ride to crazy town.

Shamal, for his part, didn't react much. He watched Tsuna and his family interact for a few moments before getting to feet. "Well, I'd better go find Bianchi," he said.

"And why the hell would you need to find Bianchi?" Tsuna snorted. "You know all she's going to do is throw a plate of poisonous food in your face."

Shamal shrugged. "Yeah, well I need something to perk me up after that depressing story. Don't wait up for me," Shamal said as he left the room, waving a hand in farewell. "I probably won't be back for a good couple weeks."

"Good," Hayato said, although it was slightly muffled by Tsuna's neck. "No one needs your perverted ass around here anyways."

And then it was just Tsuna, Hayato, Reborn, and Iemitsu.

"Tsuna," Reborn called. Tsuna looked at the hitman. "You said you were surprised I didn't know about the Argine. Why?"

Tsuna shrugged. "It was around this time that I met him. He said the earthquake that the Arcobaleno caused bringing us back to the past caused the tower he had been building to collapse and kill the love of his life. It was kind of sad and when I first met him, I tried to do everything I could to help him, but the man was insatiable. Couldn't be satisfied no matter how hard I tried. Eventually I called him out on it and he threatened my family. I invited him and his family to the ceremony six months ago to appease him and we all know how that turned out. He just sent someone in his place, though. I didn't actually meet him again until four months ago when he called for a meeting and declared war."

"So there's a war going on in this future, too?" Hayato asked, finally sitting back. Tsuna nodded.

"We have a plan to finish it, though, which is kind of why I'm worried about not being there," Tsuna said.

"What's the plan?" Iemitsu asked.

Reborn snorted into his cup. "Like he'll tell you. I doubt he'd reveal all his cards in one go," Reborn said. Tsuna tapped his nose, a small smile letting Reborn he had hit the mark. Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in.

"So we need to get you back to the future," Hayato said finally. "How do we do that?"

Reborn smirked. "How do you think, Gokudera? We call Shoichi and find a way to get in touch with Spanner."

* * *

_2 Years Later_

When Dino entered the dim office, the first thing he noticed was the man half-hidden by shadows sitting behind an imposing wooden desk. Cautiously making his way towards the desk, Dino waited for the man to stand.

"Don Cavallone, it's good to see you again," the man greeted, his smile dangerously jovial. He held out a hand in greeting and Dino took it, although reluctantly. The man gestured for Dino to sit. The blond took a seat in front of the desk. From this height, he was able to see the man's features a little more clearly.

The man was obviously Italian. He had sharp features and jet black hair slicked back. Basically, he looked like a typical mafia boss. Expensive suit. Gun sitting casually atop the desk, just in reach of the man's slender fingers. Dino liked this guy less and less the more time he spent in this man's office.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't exactly feel the same way, Don Argine," Dino said, tone polite. "Threatening my little brother isn't something that I take lightly to."

The head of the Argine Famiglia hummed softly. "I see. I'm sorry you feel that way. Why is it that you felt the need to schedule this appointment, then, Don Cavallone?"

Steeling himself, Dino smiled well-manneredly. This was it. After four months of staying directly out of this war like Tsuna had told him to, Dino could no longer stand it. This man was the scum of the mafia world and had been the one to have the Ninth killed. This couldn't be allowed to continue any longer.

"The Cavallone and its allies are lending the Vongola its complete and utter support. I came here to warn you to back off."

"Oh, are you talking about your little plan?"

Dino, startled, blinked owlishly. "Plan?"

The other don nodded courteously. "Of course. The plan the Vongola hoped to end the war with."

"What do you know about the Vongola's plans?" Dino asked, his voice full of warning.

"Oh, I know a lot of things," Don Argine bragged, leaning back in his high backed leather chair. He fingered the gun playfully, smirking at Dino's stiff form. "Like I know that the Vongola and its Decimo are having a little trouble _executing_ their plan. Can't implement a plan that work, can they?"

Dino wondered at how Don Argine would know that. Dino wasn't aware of any setback, so was the man playing with him? Trying to make a bluff about the Vongola in order to sway Dino and the Cavallone to his side?

"How do you know anything about the Vongola?" Dino asked, curious about what this man's answer would be.

"I have my ways."

"Spies," Dino spat, realization slamming into him like a freight train. "You have spies within the Vongola."

Dino cursed. This was going to be a major setback. Everything would have to be reconfigured, reset. They'd have to come up with a new plan before the month was over. They'd have to do everything over again.

"And it looks you haven't kept up with your younger brother as well as you thought you have if you don't even know what's happened to him," Argine taunted.

Dino stood up, letting the chair fall backwards without a second thought. The blond slammed his hands on the desk and leaned forward threateningly. "I f I find out that you did something to Tsuna then you will regret the day you were ever born," he hissed.

To the man's credit, he didn't even react to Din's display of hostility. He just continued to throw that taunting smirk Dino's way. Upset with the way things had gone, Dino stepped back. He had hoped he could make the man understand that he was no longer _just_ fighting the Vongola, but all of its allies as well. "I'm done here. This meeting is over. I _will_ be fighting alongside the Vongola and by the time this war is over, I will make sure that the Argine Family no longer exists."

"Suit yourself, Don Cavallone," Argine said. "But just know that the fate that's befallen the Vongola will fall upon you as well. You chose this so you only have yourself to blame."

Dino didn't respond. Instead, he turned away and threw open the door, slamming it behind him. He was agitated and nothing but seeing that Tsuna was alright for himself could put him at ease.

"Boss?" Romario asked quietly, falling in step alongside him. "Is everything alright? How did it go?"

"Swimmingly," Dino gritted out. "Call the driver and have him take me to the meeting place in Treviso."

"You're going to have him take you there so soon?" Romario asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why not wait until we get into contact with Kyoya? They won't be prepared to meet us if we take off now. Treviso isn't too far from Venice, so we'll get there before them. Give them some more time."

"No," Dino demanded, his jaw squared. "We need to get there now. If what Argine said is true, then I'm not willing to risk the chance of waiting."

"And what if this is a trap?"

Dino shook his head. "He was too confident that the Vongola couldn't go through with the plan. There's a reason. And whatever it is, I don't think he would risk it by springing a trap on us."

"And if they follow us?"

Dino slammed the doors to the mansion open and stepped into the brightness that was the town of Venice, Italy.

"Then we lose them."

* * *

"Sir?"

"Yes, what is it?" Argine asked as he peered out the window, watching an agitated Cavallone boss practically dive into his car. The woman holding the clipboard stood expectantly in front of his desk. Argine didn't remember her name, but it didn't bother him much. She'd probably quit by this time next week.

"Are you sure you don't want us to follow him?"

The man shook his head at the woman. "There's no need. It will do no good. I already know exactly where they're going."

"The spies?" the woman asked doubtfully.

"Spy," Argine corrected. "Just one spy. In the lower ranks. He's the one that files the reports. He eavesdropped on the Guardians one time and I suddenly knew everything I needed to know about when and where they would attack and who they would use as their main attackers."

"And the Decimo was one of them?"

The man chuckled. "The Decimo was the key part of the plan."

"And this is the reason we need the rings?"

The man shook his head. "It's more complicated than that. "Without the rings, the Vongola will be powerless. Plus, with the little surprise we left them when we switched out the Decimo, we will have all the time in the world to make our convergence perfect."

"What if they still attack in one month?" the woman asked, hugging the clipboard to her chest. "We can't predict what will happen if they do manage to perfect their plan before Halloween."

"That's true," Argine pondered. "We'll be prepared just in case, but I doubt that little runt will be of any use to the Vongola."

"If you say so, sir," the woman said. Bowing deeply and making her way out of the room.

Argine smirked. The Cavallone made his move, but that didn't mean his support was going to change the Vongola's predicament in the least. Now, it was time to arrange the details of the convergence.

* * *

To **general zargon - **Tsuna feels alone and helpless but at the same time doesn't want to rely on people he doesn't know very well. And, yeah, his friends really aren't doing anything to help him. Reborn has his reasons for keeping things a secret, even if they aren't all the right reasons. he just wants to keep the younger Tsuna out of something that could potentially kill him, but he really should be trusting Tsuna more. He is supposed to be Tsuna's tutor, but he's not really acting like it. And here's your reveal! Sorry about the cliffhangers. I think I might do too many of those. Thanks for your review!

To **tofldh** \- Yes! Dino met with the Vongola's enemy, and I hope you understand why now. He'd hoped to get the Argine to back off, but as you can tell, that really didn't happen. Yeah, Gokudera has some...issues he needs to work out still, and we will get to that next chapter! Also, there will be more Tsuna comfort in the next chapter as Dino arrives and basically smothers little Tsuna with love. Don't worry, Tsuna will get the comfort he needs! Thanks for your review!

To **Spiral Reflection** \- Oh my gosh! Yes! That's exactly right. I'm glad you understood that. Honestly, I was a little worried about that getting through, but I'm glad it did! Basically, everyone in the future is getting frustrated with the lack of trust and communication going on, especially Tsuna and Yamamoto. Yamamoto tries to fix it a little, and he sort of has, but there's still a lot of effort that has to be put in on both sides of the situation. Also, that simile perfectly describes this situation. Hopefully this chapter answered some more of your questions. Thanks for your review!

Thanks again to those that reviewed. I appreciated them. And I hope this chapter satisfied some curiosity that you were having. I put a lot of effort into this chapter, especially 2YL!Tsuna and present Reborn's relationship (basically Tsuna is using sarcasm as a coping method and Reborn, recognizing that, plays along). Also, sorry for ignoring future Tsuna's relationship with his father, but i wanted to focus on the war and the reason everyone acts so different in the future.

Let me know if you have any questions! I love reviews and if you want to discuss anything, I will be happy to do so!


	8. Chapter 8

I am so beyond exhausted it's not even funny. First off, I'd like to apologize. I had this all written on Friday and I got a call and I I found out I had to work pretty much all weekend. So, because I basically only had time to work, eat, and sleep. So sorry. Second, because of all that (and because i'm beyond tired right now and I just wanted to get this up), this chapter isn't edited. Third, I will reply to reviews soon, but they will be privately. I'm about to go eat lunch and then go catch up on the sleep I lost working pretty much all last night.

Also, this chapter kind of got away with me. Sorry in advance.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are awesome!

* * *

"_Yamamoto?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Will you tell me how the war started?"_

"_It's not a story you're going to like, Tsuna."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because it's our fault."_

They were sitting on the bed now, leaning against the headboard, side by side. Yamamoto had taken Gokudera's place on his right, and for some reason, Tsuna immediately felt sick at the thought of the bomber. Or maybe it was the fact that the one who usually stood on his left was at his right and the one who usually stood at his right was miles away from him. Tsuna wasn't sure if he could keep reaching out to him and that was the toughest part of all of this.

Tsuna let his head drop into his waiting hands. He was horrified. No. He was beyond horrified. He didn't blame his future self in the least, but to hear that _he_ was the one responsible for instigating a war that was _killing_ people.

"The Argine set it up so it would happen that way," Yamamoto told Tsuna, resting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. Tsuna looked up at him. "It was save your family or let them die. No one blames you for what you did."

Tsuna shook his head. "It shouldn't have happened that way. And I won't let it. When I get back home I promise that I'll fix it."

Yamamoto looked pained at Tsuna's words, but didn't discourage him. "If you feel you need to," he said. "But don't forget that it means nothing if we lose here."

Right. Alternate worlds existed, Tsuna remembered. Just because he would fix _his_ time didn't mean that everything would be alright in _this_ time. If Tsuna fixed the situation in his own time, it would only serve to create a different world, a different future. This world wouldn't be affected.

Maybe that was the real reason he had agreed to help Reborn and the Vongola. As much as he wanted to know about the war so he could back and fix it in his time, he didn't want to condemn this future with his selfish actions. Sure, he barely recognized his family here, but they were still versions of his future family. As someone who did everything he could to protect his family, Tsuna couldn't help but want to fight with them.

"Right," Tsuna said quietly.

"You seem rather quiet all of the sudden," Yamamoto said, his amber eyes observant. "Are you okay?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I...I don't think I'll ever be okay as long as I'm in this time," he admitted. Turning his head, he met his friend's eyes, gaze hardening with determination. "But, I meant what I said. I'll give everything I've got to finish training within a month and I'll lead the Vongola to the best of my abilities. I'm...I'm not as strong as the Tsuna from this time, I know, but I'll try to finish what he started. If I can accomplish that, then I can go home knowing that I'll be able to stop this war before it starts."

Something had settled in Tsuna's chest. It felt like the world had been tilted for so long and it was finally straightening out. For the first time since he had gotten here, he had some kind of purpose. If he could win this war, than he could go home knowing he could save the world before it broke. It was a familiar feeling that had given him strength time and time again. And now, he had found a purpose.

Yamamoto was staring at him, eyes wide with awe. Eventually, the baseball player broke out into a fierce grin, eyes screwing shut in enthusiasm. "If that's the case, then I'll be with you every step of the way, okay Tsuna?"

Tsuna mirrored Yamamoto's grin. For the first time since he had gotten to this time, he felt relief. Someone was actually going to be there for him. Someone was going to help him and accept him, even though he wasn't the Tsuna of this time.

"Thank you," Tsuna breathed quietly.

_Thank you so much for being that someone, Yamamoto._

* * *

They ended up taking the helicopter and using the secret entrance on the backside of the mountain. Romario had advised against it, but Dino had pushed. He was desperate to get to Tsuna to find out what exactly was happening that he wasn't aware of.

Hopping out of the helicopter before the blades had even started to slow, Dino and Romario sprinted to the elevator. When they got in, Dino jammed the button for the twenty-second floor just four floors down.

Romario raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we be heading to the twentieth, boss?"

"Normally, yes," Dino said quietly, tapping his fingers impatiently. The elevator dinged and the doors opened swiftly. "But it's different this time. I'd doubt Reborn would be in his room right now. If they have to adjust the plan, then he would be talking it over in the meeting room here."

"Reborn?" Romarion asked.

Dino nodded. "Even if the Argine's right and there's something wrong with Tsuna, there's no guarantee he's in his room. Reborn's our best bet if we want to know what's going on."

"Then you're in luck," a voice said.

Dino started and spun around. In the doorway of one of the Guardian's meeting rooms stood Reborn in all his assassin glory. Dino sighed in relief at his old tutor.

"Finally," Dino said, the corner of his lips twitching up into a smile. "I need to know something."

Reborn raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the doorway. He was followed by Sasagawa Kyoko and Gokudera Hayato.

"Is this about the plan?" Reborn asked, gesturing for the four of them to follow him into the elevator. "Because we've had a little hitch."

"I know. I met with the Argine boss and he-"

Wait a minute.

Dino looked at Sasagawa, wide-eyed in bewilderment. What the hell. What. The. Hell.

Dino pointed an accusing finger at the golden-haired girl that his brother had such a huge crush on. "_She_ knows about the plan?"

"_You met with the Argine?!_" Reborn hissed. "Dino! What the hell?! You weren't supposed to move without the go from Tsuna and I!"

Wincing dramatically, Dino scratched the back of his head. "You guys were taking too long. And you didn't answer my question!"

"That's because you're a useless student who can't even figure out that Tsuna tells Kyoko _everything_."

"Fair point," Dino muttered as Reborn walked into the basement. The blond followed him. "Are you going to hear me out?"

Reborn waved him off. "Later. The readings for the machine Shoichi's been working on just spiked."

"How do you know?" Dino asked.

Reborn smirked. "I'm the greatest hitman in the world."

Dino just stared at him. "That stopped working years ago, you know. I'm surprised Tsuna still falls for it."

"He just lets it go," Reborn said, shrugging. "Just like you should. I have my methods and you're an idiot dumbass if you think I'm going to tell you."

* * *

"This isn't good," Shoichi muttered under his breath. He whipped his glasses off and scrubbed at his face, only sliding them back when he had effectively calmed himself down.

Typing furiously, Shoichi tried his best to get the machine to stabilize, but it was taking too long. The readings jumped before he had a chance to enter the codes to read them each and every time he tried. At this rate, he was going to have to shut it down and try again when the readings weren't fluctuating as much. If he did that, though, they wouldn't be able to get the machine back up to full power.

"This really isn't good."

"Shoichi," Spanner intoned as he walked into the workroom.

Shoichi didn't look up from his work, but he waved a furious hand at his friend. "Spanner. Come here and help me with this," he said, his tone urgent.

"What happened?" Spanner asked, jogging over to Shoichi. The blond mechanic looked over the readings and cursed. "Why are they fluctuating so much?"

"How should I know?" Shoichi murmured. "They've been like this since I got here this morning. Where have you been, anyways?! I've been working on this for hours trying to keep it from imploding in on itself!"

Spanner grunted but said nothing as he watched the readings closely. They were spiking more and more as the seconds past. If they grew much higher they would be in trouble and they really would have to shut it all down.

"Seriously, Shoichi," Spanner said. "Why are they spiking? A minute ago they were fluctuating but now they're just spiking. If this gets any worse-"

"Yes, I know," Shoichi snapped.

And he did know. Once the readings spiked past the highest regulated outlying parameter, which it was pretty close to doing at this point, they would have to stop it or figure out a way to reduce its power. If not, who knew what would happen with the space-time continuum.

It would probably explode. It was more than likely that once the readings spiked past the parameters, the whole base could go up in flames.

"Shoichi!" Spanner barked.

The readings had spiked.

"Dammit!" Shoichi yelled. "It's no use, we're going to have to shut it down and wait for the readings to drop!"

"But if we do that, we're never going to get this thing back to full power!" Spanner yelled back. "If we don't fix this now-"

"We have no choice! It's going to explode if we don't!"

And explode it did.

* * *

Tsuna shoveled the food into his mouth, feeling like he hadn't eaten for a week.

After his chat with Yamamoto, the baseball player had offered him the plate of cold food that had Tsuna's mouth watering at first glance. Before, he had been too distracted by Kyoko's presence to really care about the food. At that point, he had just wanted answers to all the mysteries that seemed to be happening in this time.

Now, though, he was starving. Hibari's training had done wonders for his appetite. And he really hadn't eaten anything in the past two days besides the small portion he'd had for breakfast that morning.

After giving Tsuna the food, Yamamoto excused himself, saying he had a mission to take down one of the Argine's main squadrons that night. Tsuna had wished him luck and told him to be careful. Yamamoto only sent him a smile before he was gone.

Tsuna faltered, his hand freezing halfway between his plate and his mouth. He looked down at his almost empty plate, suddenly feeling melancholy. The joy he had felt from his talk with Yamamoto nowhere to be seen.

It seemed like everyone kept leaving him behind. He was smaller, younger, less informed than everyone else in this time. Even Fuuta and Lambo had grown up. They had been fighting, too, and what was he doing? Was training and hiding out in the base all he could do?

Now that he had calmed down a little, he could start to see the bigger picture. Before, all he had wanted was to go home and fix this before it could start. Now, though, after talking with Yamamoto, he saw how much these people were trying. He saw just how hard this was for them.

It was hard for him, too, but he couldn't act selfishly right now. He would protect his family no matter the cost, even if they weren't quite the family he remembered them to be. They were still people that he loved and wanted to protect.

Still, even if he had changed his way of thinking about the situation, he hadn't rid himself of doubts.

_I might be willing to protect these people, but can I trust them?_

They were traitorous thoughts, but after what he had been through, he wasn't sure if he could trust people he didn't know. Protect them? Of course. But trust them? It was too complicated a question to answer. It was one he wasn't sure he would ever really find the answer to.

That's when Ryohei burst through the door.

"SAWADA!"

"Onii-san?"

"You're extremely okay!"

Tsuna nodded hesitantly, unsure what was happening. There seemed to be a lot of people just walking into his room lately. Unfortunately, he was used to it.

"Y-Yeah."

Ryohei threw both arms up in the air, his face set in determination. "EXTREME!" he yelled out triumphantly.

Tsuna almost fell over at the exclamation. How the hell had he thought that this guy had mellowed out some? He was probably louder than his younger self. Tsuna's lips twitched in amusement. He had definitely missed his guardians back home and, while the Yamamoto from this time was cheerful and caring like his younger self, only Ryohei really reminded Tsuna of the younger guardians. The older Yamamoto was too observant and well-informed, and honestly, it was a little freaky sometimes.

Ryohei, on the other hand, seemed just as dense and boisterous as ever, and Tsuna couldn't help but relax in his presence.

"What's going on, Onii-san?" Tsuna asked, easing back against the headboard and placing the plate to the side. "Why're you here?"

Ryohei scratched the back of his head. "Yamamoto told me that you extremely needed your injuries treated!"

"Injuries?" Tsuna mind went blank for a moment as he struggled to remember when he had gotten hurt. "Do you talking about my ribs?"

To be honest, Tsuna had completely forgotten about his broken ribs. He had been too overwhelmed with everything else that it hadn't even occurred to he should be in pain. Lifting up his shirt, he saw why he hadn't felt so much as a twinge. There wasn't even a mark left.

So Ryohei was _that_ strong in this time. Strong enough to heal bones with his sun flames.

"I extremely already took care of that," Ryohei confirmed, considerably less loud this time. "He said something about sparring."

"Oh, do you mean my training with Hibari?" Tsuna asked. "I thought I was building up resistance or whatever. Can I still be healed if I have to build up resistance?"

"I have no idea!" Ryohei exclaimed. "But Hibari's strong and lately he's been pretty mad at anything that moves! It makes it more fun to train! But as the weaker Sawada, you are probably having some problems fighting against him!"

Tsuna's eyebrow. _Weaker Sawada?_

Well, it wasn't untrue. He was weaker than his older self, but the way Ryohei had said it made him feel kind of disheartened. Also, he was starting to feel exasperated. He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to deal with his older self's guardian.

Ryohei, in this time, seemed to know what was going on, but Tsuna couldn't tell if he was taking it seriously or not. The teen was addicted to fighting and thought with his fists instead of his head. This Ryohei was a little weird and Tsuna could tell that _something _was going through that head of his, but he wasn't all that sure what it was.

Tsuna sighed. There was no point in comparing them anymore. He had made up his mind. Protect, but don't trust. Obviously this would take some getting used to, and he needed to distance himself from their differences. He couldn't think of them as the same people as those in his time.

_Boom!_

Tsuna jumped up from the bed. He stood up and put a steadying hand on the wall. The whole room was rumbling and the relaxed feeling Tsuna had had from before was long gone. Instead, he was tense and looking at Ryohei in bewilderment, wondering if this seemingly well-informed boxer could provide the answer.

"What is that?" Tsuna asked. "What's going on?"

It sounded like explosions. Like Gokudera had set off his dynamite on some of the lower levels and it was resounding throughout the whole base. Or maybe a little more like Lambo's grenades considering the force. Whatever it was, though, it didn't sound good.

Ryohei was frowning, looking down at the floor with his eyebrows furrowing together. He didn't answer the brunet. Instead, he grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him, barefoot, out of the room and into the hallway.

They practically sprinted to the elevator, hardly waiting a second before rushing in after the doors slid open. Ryohei let go of Tsuna's wrist once the doors closed, but he didn't relax and he was unusually quiet, as if he were trying to think. It was making Tsuna uncomfortable.

"Onii-san?" Tsuna asked. "What is it? Is something happening?"

Ryohei shifted a minute before tilting his chin up and nodding to himself. To Tsuna, it looked as if the boxer had overcome some inner conflict. Jabbing one of the basement buttons, Ryohei turned towards Tsuna.

"Listen, Sawada," Ryohei said, sounding dead serious. Tsuna stilled and turned his attention towards Ryohei. "Whatever happens, don't jump into the thing. If you do, you'll probably get ripped to shreds."

Tsuna's insides grew cold. "Wh...What are you talking about? Jump into what?"

"Irie's time traveling machine."

Tsuna was numb. He didn't know what to think anymore. Shoichi had finished the machine already? Then why wasn't he already getting sent home already? It was more beneficial for everyone if he and the other Tsuna traded places again. So why not send Tsuna home?

"Wait," Tsuna said, thinking over what Ryohei had told him. "Ripped to shreds? What are you talking about?"

Ryohei sighed. "We'll both know for sure when we get there, but I think something went wrong. Irie and Spanner haven't finished it yet."

"The explosions..." Tsuna realized. His voice dropped in volume until it became barely a whisper of breath. "Am I going to be stuck here forever?"

Ryohei shook his head. "That would be an extreme problem for everyone. As much as I love having the younger Sawada here with us, you shouldn't be fighting. You'd be knocked out of the ring before three minutes was up."

Of all the things Tsuna expected Ryohei to say, that wasn't it. This Ryohei was a future of the one that Tsuna saw as an older brother, but he had never expected him to care for him. To see him as someone to cherish, to protect. This Ryohei didn't resent him for being from the past; he just didn't want to see Tsuna hurt.

For some reason, Tsuna felt warm. His heart was thumping painfully in his chest, as if reminding him that this wasn't really his Ryohei. This wasn't really his brother. But, if someone could make him feel so warm and _wanted_, could they really be so bad.

Luckily for Tsuna, the elevator dinged, signaling their floor. Both of them grew serious, putting their conversation behind them.

"Extremely remember," Ryohei reminded him, "whatever you do, don't jump in."

Tsuna nodded and when the doors opened and revealed Level B4, both of them dashed out.

* * *

They had rushed into a hurricane.

Tsuna stared at the contents of the lab with muted horror. Wind whipped his hair and clothes, leaving him unsteady. He could barely hear a thing. And every few seconds, Tsuna had to dodge something that had flown across the room or gotten sucked in the crosswinds. And there was absolutely no end to it all.

At the far end of the giant white lab, Shoichi and Spanner were yelling at each other about something—probably the time traveling machine—while typing away furiously on a couple of connected computers.

And between Shoichi and Spanner, mounted against the wall, was a miniature version of Shoichi's time travel machine from the future. It looked almost exactly the same. It reminded Tsuna of gears on a clock. And the machine was open.

_It was open._

In the middle of the open machine doors was an image that looked like a fuzzy version of his house. It was a little hard to tell, but the image looked like it was showing was his living room, full of occupants he couldn't bear to see, and yet hated to be away from. Each and every one of his friends was sitting around the table, looking at him with awe and excitement. Reborn, Iemitsu, the kids, Dino, Basil, even his future self. They were all there, and they were all staring straight back.

Tsuna's head was spinning and he was feeling lightheaded. He could go home. All it took was a jump through this thing and he would be back home, out of this time and back into his own. He could feel like he was in synch with himself again. He could go back to the people he trusted, the family he relied on. He didn't have to stay here any longer.

Slowly, without taking his eyes off the image of home, Tsuna shuffled forward. He dodged the items and, even though it seemed to take a million years, he finally made it to Shoichi and Spanner.

"I don't care, Spanner!" Shoichi was yelling, yet it sounded no louder than a whisper with the winds whipping past him and blocking the sound. "I don't care! Just shut it down! It's destabilizing!"

"If we do that, it's not going to work again!" Spanner yelled back. "It'll take weeks to get this all back on track! If we make the corrections now, while it's active, we can make sure it'll stay working!"

"We'll all die before that happens! It'll continue to destabilize and then everything we've worked for we be lost! SHUT IT DOWN, SPANNER!"

"Shoichi..." Tsuna said.

Shoichi turned and caught his breath. "Tsunayoshi-kun!"

Spanner turned, as well, eyes widening in surprise. "Vongola. Oh great, now we're really screwed."

Tsuna didn't look at either of them. Instead, he kept his gaze trained on home. For some reason, he couldn't seem to look away. Slowly, he lifted his arm, taking just a step forward, towards the machine. And he reached out. His expression twisted into something of longing and his brown eyes were stinging with tears. He wanted to go home.

_Whatever you do, don't jump in._

Tsuna faltered, his arm dropping slightly. That's what Ryohei had said, but why would he try to keep him from going home when all he had to do was walk into the machine. All he had to do was take one step forward and he would be reunited with his beloved family.

"NO!" Spanner yelled. "VONGOLA!"

Shoichi's arm was suddenly around Tsuna's stomach, pulling him backwards, away from home. Away from his family. Away from everything. And inside, Tsuna felt his heart breaking. Tsuna started to struggle, twisting and turning as he fought to get back to everyone that had to be waiting for him back home. Why were they stopping him?

"NO!" Tsuna screamed, thrashing violently. "NO! STOP IT! STOP! SHOICHI! NO!"

"Tsunayoshi-kun, stop struggling!" Shoichi hissed in his ear, but Tsuna barely heard him. He writhed and struggled and fought, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break away from Shoichi's fierce grip. "Spanner! Shut it down! NOW!"

"No!" Tsuna sobbed, reaching out for the only chance he had to get back. "No. No, you can't!"

"Spanner!" Shoichi demanded.

Spanner hesitated at the controls, but eventually he gave in and hit an orange button before typing in a series of codes that Tsuna had no hope of understanding. The machine whined dangerously and the winds started to die down.

It was the image, though. It was the image that Tsuna watched. It sharpened until it was like looking through a pair of glasses that were too strong and he could see every member of his family with perfect clarity. And then it just vanished. Gone were the image and the winds. Objects clattered to the floor and the room was completely silent.

Tsuna couldn't believe it. He stopped struggling, frozen in Shoichi's tight grip. The red-headed mechanic loosened his hold and stepped back uncertainly from the silent teen. Tsuna just fell to his knees, eyes blurred with tears.

It was too much to handle. He just wanted to escape. He just wanted to get out of here. His chance to get back home was completely ruined now that Spanner had shut down the machine. So, Tsuna did what any grieving teenager would do. He cried.

* * *

When Dino, Reborn, and Romario had burst through the door to Shoichi and Spanner's lab, probably the one thing Dino hadn't expected to see was Spanner holding Shoichi back while the former attempted to take a swing at Ryohei.

"You absolute _idiot_!" Shoichi yelled. "What were you _thinking_?!"

Dino was honestly taken aback. As long as he had known him, Shoichi was never one to get into a physical brawl, even if he was absolutely furious. But it wasn't really Shoichi that he was the most surprised at. It was Spanner.

Even though Spanner was the one holding Shoichi back, Dino could tell by his expression that the blond was absolutely livid right now. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to stand back as Shoichi beat the hell out of Ryohei—not that would be physically possible.

Reborn barely gave the teens any attention, instead pushing past Dino and looping around the group yelling in the middle of the room to kneel at the side of a smaller, hunched over figure that sported familiar spiky brown hair.

Dino, worried about his younger brother, left the group in Romario's adept hands and made his way over to Reborn and his most recent student.

"Tsuna," Reborn said not unkindly, his voice soft and understanding. With gentleness Dino didn't know Reborn was even capable of, he gently tugged up Tsuna's chin so he could peer into the boy's eyes. "Tsuna."

Dino plopped down next to Reborn so that he was facing Tsuna. He didn't interfere, though. This was a moment meant to be shared by only teacher and student. He knew better than to get in the middle of this, having already had many of these moments himself.

When Reborn lifted Tsuna's chin, Dino looked at his self-proclaimed brother in wonder. The boy's stare was blank, betraying no emotion, but his eyes were still shedding silent tears. Tsuna didn't even look like he was all there. But, something else was off about the image. Something was wrong with Tsuna in general. It almost felt like he was staring at a stranger.

And that's when it hit him.

"Damn it all!" Dino yelled, startling the room's occupants.

"What is it, Dino?" Reborn asked, never taking his eyes off of Tsuna's face. "What's wrong?"

This is what Argine meant when he said the Vongola was having trouble with the plan. This wasn't _their_ Tsuna. This Tsuna was too inexperienced, too young to pull off a plan the older Tsuna could barely execute at full power.

The Argine knew about the plan. Dino had known that they had done something, that was obvious by their confidence that the Vongola would fail. But _this_? How could they possibly switch the two Tsuna's? They shouldn't have the technology.

"Dino!"

Dino waved him off. "Later. I'll tell you later."

Reborn looked less than satisfied, but took Dino's demand as it was in light of the situation. Knowing Reborn, he probably knew that Dino was thinking about his meeting with the Argine.

Tsuna was completely unresponsive, eyes blank, like he was watching something no one else could see. He didn't sob. He barely breathed, even as the tears continued to stream down his cheeks. He didn't seem aware enough to understand what was happening.

Reborn shook his shoulder lightly, keeping his chin held up so it wouldn't fall back to his chest. Dino's heart broke just looking at the poor child. Whatever he went through, it had been extremely distressing; to the point where he had basically cracked open.

"Tsuna," Reborn called again. "Tsuna, can you hear me?"

Tsuna's fingers twitched slightly, but other than that, the boy remained in his unresponsive state. Reborn sighed and looked to Dino.

"Will you hold him while I go deal with those three idiots?"

Dino really needed to stop being so surprised by everyone's actions today. Yes, normally Reborn would have coddled his student while he was in this state and everyone would know to stay far away from the overprotective hitman. But, for some odd reason, the hitman was leaving the task to the Cavallone boss.

"Yeah," Dino nodded, unsure what was going on. Obviously, he was missing something. "Sure. No problem."

Dino sat up fully and helped Reborn situate Tsuna so that he was backed up against the blond's chest, the boy's spiky hair tickling his chin. As soon as Reborn stood up, Dino tightened his hold on Tsuna, securing the boy against him.

He may not have been there in the middle of the forest with Tsuna, Reborn, and Kyoya, but Dino had dealt with the aftermath of the situation, arriving only minutes after Tsuna had killed the Argine agent. This situation seemed too familiar for comfort's sake. It seemed to be too closely linked, as well.

The Argine were dealing crushing blows against the Vongola in so many ways, and each and every time, even though they always stood back up, the Vongola—Tsuna especially—always seemed to stoop a little lower.

Dino sighed and turned his attention to the room's other occupants. It would do no good on contemplating on that right now. For now, he would figure out what had happened and hopefully be able to coax Tsuna to his feet.

Reborn walked towards his victims, his hands casually resting in his front pockets. "Ryohei, Irie, Spanner."

All three of them looked up and into the face of their doom. Dino hadn't heard much of what they had been talking about, too busy trying to understand how to help Tsuna, but he knew that something had happened to cause Tsuna's breakdown. And the only people who knew were the ones that had been in the room with him at the time.

Shoichi immediately backed down, Spanner loosening his hold as soon as it was clear Shoichi wasn't going to try anything. "Reborn."

Shoichi's voice was quivering, but Dino noticed that it wasn't from fear of what Reborn could do to him. It was anger. Shoichi was mad, and if Dino had to take a wild guess, he would have said it was at Ryohei.

"What happened?" Reborn asked, calm and collected.

Shoichi's fists clenched as he glared at the boxer. "Ryohei brought Tsunayoshi-kun down here while it was activated."

"Tell me what happened," Reborn repeated, his voice tight with irritation. "From the beginning. Tell me everything."

"The readings started fluctuating this morning and I spent all day trying to code the machine to match up to the space-time continuum's readings, but they were all over the place. I couldn't keep up," Shoichi admitted. "Spanner came in and then the readings started spiking."

"We've had to keep the machine active since yesterday so it could adjust to the readings, but the machine isn't built to handle that much pressure," Spanner said. "I thought if we tried to catch the codes up, we might be able to avoid shutting it down and having to start over from scratch."

"And you saw how well that worked," Shoichi muttered.

Spanner shrugged casually, although his shoulders seemed kind of stiff. "I didn't expect Vongola to try to charge into it."

Dino raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it unstable? Why would he try to go through it?"

Shoichi shifted uncomfortably. "Spanner was doing a good job coding it, and while it wasn't enough to fix it completely, it was stable enough that it opened."

Reborn turned his gaze onto the unusually silent Ryohei. The boxer wasn't looking at any of them. He just looked at Tsuna, his stare distant, as if he were reviewing the events and actions that had taken place in the room previously.

"Ryohei?" Reborn prompted. "Why did you bring Tsuna down here?"

"I extremely didn't know that it was active," Ryohei muttered, still refusing to look at any of them. Then his eyebrows furrowed and he looked to Reborn, his expression some mixture of puzzlement and concern. "I think I extremely forgot that this wasn't our Sawada."

* * *

Tsuna listened to the voices murmuring around him, the scene replaying in front of his eyes over and over again.

He had hesitated. Ryohei's words had made him hesitate for a split second, but it was enough for Shoichi to pull him away from the machine. If he had been faster, if he hadn't hesitated, then he could've walked in.

He could have walked in, but would he have come out the other side in one piece. Now that the moment was over, Tsuna understood just exactly how dangerous that had been. He could have killed himself.

_It will rip you to shreds_.

That's what Ryohei had told him, but he hadn't heeded the warning. The only reason he wasn't dead was because Shoichi had pulled him away. The only reason he wasn't ripped into a million pieces right now was because Shoichi hadn't listened to his stupid pleading and had stopped him from doing something completely stupid.

There was one good thing that had come of this, though. He had gotten to see his family. He had gotten to see them, and they were all safe. Every single one of them. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Hibari, Ryohei, Mukuro, Chrome, Lambo, Fuuta, I-pin, Dino, Basil, Iemitsu, Lala and the rest of CEDEF, and Reborn. Everyone was okay.

"Ryohei? Why did you bring Tsuna down here?"

Tsuna stilled, listening as a familiar voice started talking. Tsuna knew that one. It was strange and yet so familiar, one he, for some reason, associated with home. This voice, the rhythm of it, the intonations, it was all familiar for him, and yet Tsuna couldn't place it.

"I extremely didn't know that it was active." There was a pause. "I think I extremely forgot that this wasn't our Sawada."

Tsuna's image of his family shattered into a million pieces and he suddenly couldn't breathe. That was Ryohei. The one who made him feeling warm and wanted. Why? Why would he say that?

Throat burning and tears stinging the corners of his eyes, Tsuna screwed his eyes shut and buried his face in the shoulder of whoever had wrapped their arms around him. Even if he felt ice cold inside, the warm arms that enveloped him still felt nice, and Tsuna was just glad that weren't burning. They felt natural and accepting, and right now, Tsuna couldn't wish for anything more.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! I got this up a little later than I expected to, but I had a lot of edits to make. This chapter is very dialogue heavy, so it took me longer to make sure that the everyone was in character. And if they aren't then I am super sorry! I tried my best!

Anyways, I wanted to let you guys know that I have a schedule posted on my profile now if you're ever curious about exactly when I'll be posting. I update it often, so it's pretty up to date.

Thanks for all the reviews so far! You guys are amazing. You're the reason I'm so motivated to keep going with this story, too! Thanks again!

* * *

_Present_

After Shamal had left, Tsuna had managed to pry Hayato off of him without too much effort. Once Tsuna had said something about it, Hayato had just squeezed him one more time and then shoved himself off, only to start banging his head on the floor and apologizing profusely for "man-handling" the Tenth.

"Hayato, you're going to hurt yourself," Tsuna reprimanded.

Reborn snorted, somehow procuring a copy of this time's newspaper out of thin air. "Let him do what he wants, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna slapped his hand to his forehead in exasperation. Reborn was absolutely _not_ helping, which wasn't really a surprise since he knew the Reborn from this time loved to make his life a living hell. Still, at least the hitman hadn't made it worse, something that he was glad for.

"Thanks a bunch, Reborn," Tsuna sighed sarcastically. "You're a great help."

"Not my job," Reborn said, looking rather smug. "Control your own guardians."

"I'm so sorry, Tenth!" Hayato apologized from next to him, catching Tsuna's attention. Well, at least he had stopped banging his head on the floor. Although, he did have a big red spot from where his forehead had made contact with the floor. "I was acting like that stupid baseball nut and I'm sorry that I invaded your personal space. I promise I won't do it again!"

This was all getting kind of ridiculous. The kids were outside in the yard, screaming their heads off. Iemitsu—who was supposed to be the adult here—was sitting in his own little depressed corner, still crying his eyes out. Hayato was being obnoxiously apologetic. And Reborn was absently bored, ignoring the situation around him. Tsuna wondered again how he hadn't gone completely nuts while all this had happened around him.

"I'm going to die here," Tsuna muttered. "I'm going to die of insanity."

"It's better than dying of a gunshot wound," Reborn pointed out, flipping a page of his newspaper. "Honestly, slowly going crazy is the best way, since it's a lot harder to recover."

Tsuna stared at Reborn. "How the hell did I survive with you as my tutor?"

Reborn just shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no idea. I honestly thought you wouldn't last the first month. And yet, here you are. Almost four years in the mafia."

"You are the biggest jerk in the whole world."

"So you've told me," Reborn said, keeping his eyes trained on the article at the top of the page. "And keep telling me. I thought I was the one who was supposed to insult _you_. Care to tell me when that changed?"

"It changed when you started calling me Tsunayoshi," Tsuna murmured.

Reborn just snorted and said nothing more, turning his complete attention to his newspaper again. Iemitsu was bawling into a cell phone in the corner of the room now, blubbering something Tsuna could barely understand to someone on the other side. Hayato had stopped apologizing and, instead, had been watching his and Reborn's exchange with quiet horror. He looked like he had been barely holding himself back from coming to Tsuna's rescue.

Tsuna sighed. This really was going to take some getting used to. He looked to Reborn again, who was looking back at him, eyes sparkling with mischief. Tsuna did not like where this was going. The Arcobaleno put down his paper and jumped onto Tsuna's shoulder, having Leon transform into a funnel and sticking the small side into Tsuna's ear.

"I can hear your thoughts, Tsunayoshi," the hitman staged whispered.

Tsuna shuddered and waved Reborn off. His tutor landed on the table, letting Leon transform and scurry onto the brim of his hat. As much as Tsuna loved Leon, he hated the way Reborn found ways to freak him out with the chameleon.

"You're lying," Tsuna said flatly. "I know for a fact that you can't hear my thoughts."

Reborn shrugged. "Maybe not, but you're pretty easy to read, even if you are from the future."

"Right," said Tsuna, completely unimpressed. "If I'm so easy to read, then what am I thinking?"

"That I should punch Iemitsu in the face to get him to stop crying like a baby."

"Wrong!" Tsuna yelled.

Okay, so maybe Reborn was a little right. He was fed up with how carefree and crazy his father was acting. In his time, Iemitsu was less of a crybaby and more of a father. It was more than irritating that he was still sobbing in a corner instead of doing something productive.

Reborn smirked. "Speaking of reading minds, I know what you really want, Tsunayoshi. All you have to do is ask for it."

"Fine. Since you know what I want, can we just get everyone over here already instead of dragging this out?" Tsuna sighed, upset with all of the theatrics. "I'd rather not have to explain this story forty billion times."

Reborn pulled out a phone. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Tsuna sat at the head of the table and looked out at everyone he had gathered together. To his right sat Hayato and to his left sat Takeshi. Next to Hayato was Reborn and then a teary-eyed Iemitsu. Next to Takeshi sat Ryohei, Fuuta, and Lambo. I-pin was squished next to Lambo, as far away from the one who sat across from Tsuna as she could be. Away from Mukuro, who had taken over Chrome's body for the moment. Kyoya was leaning against the wall, glaring daggers at the illusionist—who was glaring right back—but making no move to do anything violence wise.

Tsuna looked around at the familiar and yet not familiar faces. He had noticed it before with Hayato, but now, with everyone sitting here in the living room, Tsuna could really see it. Everyone looked too young. When he looked at his family, all he could see was who they could grow up to be, and that left him feeling dizzy and disorientated, because it was with each and every one of them.

"Tsuna?" Takeshi asked, pushing himself up from the ground and reaching out an arm towards the brunet. The swordsman had a concerned frown on his face that furrowed his brow, causing him to look more like his older self than Tsuna was comfortable with. "Are you okay?"

Tsuna waved him off. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, Sawada Tsunayoshi," Mukuro said, his voice and expression betraying nothing. "In fact, you look a little different from _our_ dear Tsunayoshi. Care to explain yourself?"

"He's from the future," Reborn cut in. "Two years in the future. We don't know how he got here, but he's switched out with our Tsuna," Reborn said, starting to smirk again. "You can call him Tsunayoshi, though, so we don't mix the two up."

Tsuna rubbed his temples with his thumb and index finger, exasperated beyond all belief. "No. No, you can_not_ call me that just to distinguish us. I'm Tsuna. The Tsuna I switched with is Tsuna. We're all Tsuna. So _don't_ call me Tsunayoshi like you need to make a distinction us from one another because _I. Am. Tsuna._"

"I EXTREMELY DON'T GET IT!" Ryohei yelled, raising his arms above his head. "WHY ARE WE ALL SAWADA?"

Takeshi laughed. "I agree with senpai. Why would we be trying to pretend we're Tsuna? Aren't _you_ Tsuna, Tsuna?"

"Shut up, baseball freak!" Hayato jumped in. "Use that brain of yours for once and actually try to understand what the Tenth's trying to say!" The bomber turned to Tsuna and gave him a thumbs up coupled with a bright smile that always seemed to be reserved for Tsuna. "I've got your back, Tenth!"

"Right." Tsuna sighed. This was getting absolutely nowhere. "Anyways, if we could get on with this-"

"Nyahahaha!" Lambo screamed triumphantly. The cow child pointed to Hayato. Well that had almost literally come out of nowhere. "Ahodera, prepare yourself for Lambo-san's revenge!"

"You stupid cow!" Hayato yelled, standing up so that he was looking down at Lambo from across the table. He pulled out his dynamite and held them up threateningly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You're interrupting the Tenth's meeting!"

"Lambo-san doesn't have to listen to what you say, Bakadera! Lambo-san is the best-"

"Lambo!" I-pin reprimanded, conking the boy on the head. "Tsuna-san is talking."

"Kufufu," Mukuro chuckled. "I am not a man of unlimited time, Tsunayoshi. I prefer if you didn't keep me waiting." Which was true, since he couldn't keep possessing Chrome forever. Eventually the purple-haired girl would run out of energy.

"Shut up, you perverted illusionist!" Hayato turned on Mukuro. "If you don't like it here, you can just leave! I thought you hated the mafia, anyway!"

"Of course I hate the mafia," Mukuro said, his voice as smooth and even as ever, "but that does not mean I won't come and meet Tsunayoshi if he calls, especially if it might give me a chance to take over the Tenth Vongola's body."

"You bastard!" Hayato growled.

But Tsuna was hardly paying attention to his out of control guardians. Tsuna watched as Kyoya's brow twitched in irritation. Their eyes met and Tsuna could see clearly what the skylark was trying to convey as soon as his hand tightened on one of his tonfa.

_If this keeps going, I will bite every single one of those herbivores to death and then I will leave. And if you contact me again, I will bite you to death again._

Tsuna's head hit the table. "This is hopeless," he groaned.

"If you want I can hit you with a Dying Will bullet," Reborn suggested. "It'll probably stop the fighting."

"But not the chaos," Tsuna reminded him. "Every time you involve yourself in something, everything goes to hell."

Reborn shrugged. "It means I'm doing my job right."

Tsuna snorted before shaking his head in exasperation. "As much as I'm appreciating this type of peace, this isn't what we should be doing right now. How far away is Dino?"

"Right here!" Dino yelled, sticking his head through the open door. Behind him were Romario, Basil, Lal, and Oregano. Dino jabbed a thumb at the external advisor's team behind him, a wicked grin on his face. "Hope you don't mind that we brought a few more people. They were just hanging out trying to decipher some orders and I decided to bring them along."

Tsuna gestured for the newcomers to sit down. They all complied, Lal rather reluctantly. The failed Arcobaleno was still in her infant form and she looked extra irritated. Tsuna remembered his father babbling into the phone earlier and he was sure that the CEDEF members probably had no clue what Iemitsu had been saying to them. No wonder Lal looked as if she were about to murder somebody.

The others already sitting down had fallen quiet as they watched the mafia members pick their way through the room to find a suitable place to sit down, which Tsuna was rather grateful for. It gave him an opportunity to take control of things again.

When everyone had gotten settled, Tsuna took a deep breath, determination setting his shoulders. It was something that Takeshi had joked put him in "boss mode". Tsuna didn't care for the name, but it _was_ something he did to focus himself, so he wouldn't start babbling about unnecessary things or get distracted. Right now he had to focus.

When he opened his eyes, he could see everything in a new light. Everyone was staring at him, some in awe, most in puzzlement, two stoically, but he didn't let himself get hung up on that. He needed to keep focused.

"I'm from the future," Tsuna started. "Two years, to be exact. The thing is, in my time, the Vongola is at war with another family called the Argine Family. After the earthquake that just happened here in this time, the one the Arcobaleno caused sealing the Mare Rings, it caused a building to fall and the Argine boss blamed the Vongola for killing his lover. Eventually, it all escalated and the Argine declared war."

"Herbivore, you are not making sense," Kyoya said, steel gray eyes trained on Tsuna. "How could a man blame you and your mafia life for an earthquake?"

"For once," Mukuro said, his lips pulled down in a small frown, "I agree with Hibari Kyoya. How could this Argine Family blame the Vongola Family for a seemingly natural disaster?"

Tsuna sighed. "We asked him why he was blaming us, and all he said was if there was a worldwide earthquake, then it had to be the Vongola's fault. By that time he had already tried to shoot me twice so Hayato and Takeshi didn't really let me stay any longer. I never got the chance to convince him otherwise after that. He was too set on revenge."

"Good," Reborn said, focusing on the _guardians got Tsuna out_ part. "If you had gotten killed by a minor mafia family boss like that then I must have gone wrong in my training somewhere. I'll make sure to revamp your past self's training schedule for you, Tsuna."

Tsuna's hand met his forehead. "So _not_ getting killed doesn't count for anything?"

"The thing that counts is that you _almost_ got killed. Can't be a mafia boss if you die during a meeting with another boss," Reborn quipped rather cheerfully.

"Can't be a mafia boss if I die trying to keep up with your training, either," Tsuna muttered.

Dino held up a placating hand, a nervous smile plastered on his face. "Tsuna, why don't you continue? You must have called us all here for more than to just tell us you're from the future."

Tsuna nodded, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Focus. He needed to focus now. He couldn't get side-tracked. If he didn't get everyone to band together on this, then things could go really bad when the time came for the Vongola Guardians to face the Argine.

"Listen," Tsuna said. "I have an idea. I'm from the future, and I'm not trying to take the other Tsuna's place, but I need your guys' help. If this works, if we can pull this off, your future won't be the same as mine."

"How does that work?" Takeshi wondered. "Why wouldn't be the same?"

"Idiot!" Hayato growled. "Remember Shoichi's explanation about alternate realities? Already, because the future Tenth is here, our future will be different than the one he's from!"

Ryohei scratched his head. "I extremely don't get it!"

"Look. As soon as we get rid of the possibility of Argine starting a war in this time, there's no way he'll start a war in the future, right?" Dino said, holding up a finger. "I think that's what Tsuna's been trying to say. His time won't be the same as our future because there isn't a possibility of a war happening anymore. Like with Byakuran."

"R-Right," Tsuna said, gazing at his surrogate brother with incredulity. "That's what I was trying to say, but how did you know what my idea was?"

"It was easy to guess based off of what you said to us," Reborn said, too smug for Tsuna's comfort. "You were in a war with the Argine but you were sent back to the past in the middle of it. I'd think you would want to help us in the past to avoid your future, right?"

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah. That's basically how it is."

"But what's your idea, Tsuna?" Iemitsu asked, talking for the first time since his stint in the corner. "It makes sense that you want to avoid your future, but how? If I remember correctly, you said he wouldn't listen to you before he started the war. Why would he listen now?"

Sitting up straighter, Tsuna gathered up his thoughts. Honestly, it was something he had thought about as soon as he figured he might as well try to help his younger self avoid his horrible future, but he hadn't been sure how to go about convincing the guy when it hadn't worked before.

"It might be fresher in his mind," Tsuna suggested cautiously, knowing that this argument was half-assed at best. He'd need to come up with something surefire soon, but for now, this was the best he could do. "I'm not sure if it will convince him entirely, but I was hoping that if he was less set in his mind about the Vongola being at fault, then it might be a little easier."

"Makes sense," Takeshi said. "If we can talk him out of it then that'd be great, right?"

"My concern is that we won't be _able_ to talk him out of it," Iemitsu said. Tsuna's father hummed quietly to himself, looking rather thoughtful. "It's not that I don't agree with you, Tsuna. You're probably right when you say that his allegation won't be some long held belief that the Vongola is evil this early in the game, but that doesn't mean we can just sweet talk him into not blaming us. If anything that could set things up to take place even earlier."

"But we can't just sit by and do nothing," Hayato argued. "This isn't going to go away just because we don't think about it!"

"Iemitsu is right, though," Dino cut in. "There's no way to know for sure that we can just talk him out of it. We need to think of something that will make sure that Argine doesn't start a war."

"When will this happen?" Reborn asked Tsuna after a moment of contemplation. "How long do we have until he comes? If it's too early, then we better come up with something quick. But if there's a lot of time left, then we can plan things out a lot more carefully. I'd prefer it to be the latter, but considering the earthquake already happened, it's most likely going to be sooner than later, right?"

Tsuna nodded. "I think it was almost three weeks after we got home," Tsuna said, trying to recall the earlier years.

Dino hummed thoughtfully. "That doesn't leave us a lot of time to come with something, but it was more than I was thinking."

"Herbivore," Kyoya said, drawing Tsuna's attention. When the brunet looked over at the skylark, Tsuna saw that he was practically drowning in irritation. "If you don't give me a good reason for me to be here, I will bite you to death."

Tsuna waved his hands frantically at the prefect. He had forgotten that Kyoya hated crowding with other people. In the future, it was practically normal for Kyoya to be around the other guardians or recruits while he was in the base. He hardly complained about it anymore.

"Wait, Ky-Hibari. This war isn't just going to be in Italy. It starts in Namimori. If you want to keep Namimori safe, then you probably need to hear this."

"Come on Kyoya," Dino said. "Just bear with for a little while."

Kyoya's hands tightened on his tonfa, clutching them with a death grip. Tsuna held his breath as he waited, silently, for Kyoya to make his decision, only letting it out once Kyoya had hidden his weapons away and leaned back against the wall again, still glaring daggers at Tsuna.

"Fine, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I will stay, but only for the safety of Namimori."

And Tsuna couldn't ask for more. Sighing in relief, Tsuna turned back to his Family sitting around the room. Each and every one of them had their eyes glued to Tsuna, their eyes expectant. They expected Tsuna to naturally lead him, and while he would do so without hesitation, he couldn't help but feel the heavy burden it placed on him. Not as heavy as it had once been, but weighted all the same.

A deep breath. Focus.

"Right, so we need to figure out a way to convince the Argine not to start a war. Any ideas?" Tsuna asked.

"Kufufu. We could kill him," Mukuro suggested. Silence greeted his proposal.

"The pineapple bastard has a point, Tenth," Hayato said reluctantly. "If we kill him, then the problem is solved, isn't it?"

Takeshi looked uneasy. "I don't know, Gokudera. Maybe we should try to find another way and leave that as a last resort."

"I extremely don't like the idea of killing anybody!" Ryohei yelled out.

Iemitsu frowned. "And what if you can't find a way?" he asked. "Are you really going to be able to kill a man in cold blood? Tsuna would probably be the one to do it, and it won't be the Tsuna who has already killed before, remember? Are you really ready to risk it?"

Tsuna narrowed his eyes at his father. As much as he hated to admit it, Iemitsu was playing this game rather intelligently. The man, who was probably had no qualms about killing the Argine boss, was playing devil's advocate, turning things around and making the guardians think so they wouldn't make a decision without knowing what they had gotten into.

Hayato snorted. "Don't be stupid. _I _would be the one killing him. I've been in the mafia for a long time. I've had to kill before. If the Tenth needs me to take someone out, I will!"

Tsuna had honestly forgotten about how much he had opposed killing anybody before. He still hated it now, but at least he acknowledged that killing was sometimes necessary to protect your friends. He had accepted that.

The other Tsuna, the one from this time, probably still hadn't understood the meaning of a death yet. The weight of it. The only person he had killed was Byakuran, and _he_ was technically still alive in this time. The other Tsuna barely had any blood staining his hands, and the way his guardians were acting reflected that. They didn't understand that they were talking about a threat that, if eliminated, would save their futures. They were all trying to save his past self from the weight of killing, all the while still seeing the Argine boss as a life that could still be saved.

Which, in reality, it really was. The Argine boss could still be saved in this time, but in Tsuna's time, he was a threat that _had_ to be eliminated, and Tsuna could only see him as such. It was surreal to see his other self's guardians act like the enemy's life was so sacred.

_A life doesn't equal a life_.

It had been something Tsuna had told Reborn once as the hitman held the Argine spy hostage. When he had said it, he had meant that they shouldn't kill the man since killing him wouldn't bring back the Ninth. But now, it held a different meaning. His friends' lives, his family's lives, they were more important to him than anyone else in the world. No one else's life equaled theirs.

_A life doesn't equal a life._

And it really didn't.

"What do you think, Tsuna?" Dino asked.

Tsuna looked up to meet the eyes, so weighted and expectant, but did nothing except shrug. "You guys might not have thought about this, but I'm from a future where that man has done nothing but cut my family down. I don't think I have any right to make the decision to kill him in this time or not. I've already made my choice in my time, but I'm not going to force you guys to do anything here. It's not my time, it's your Tsuna's.

"If you know your Tsuna well enough to know he'd be okay with killing Argine, go ahead and set that up as Plan A. If not, then we're going to have to come up with something else. Something that your Tsuna will be okay with."

"Tsuna," Dino said, smiling proudly. "Thank you."

Tsuna shrugged. "I meant what I said. Pick your plan based on what your Tsuna would willingly lead."

"You have no plans to stay here, I'm guessing," Iemitsu said, staring Tsuna down.

Tsuna smiled hollowly. "Whether or not I want it to, the war in my time will be over once the month is over. Based on Shoichi's past experiments, one day in the past equals two days in my time. That means I probably have about two weeks with you guys at the most. Unless Shoichi manages to actually fix his machine in time. Then maybe less."

"How do you know it's two weeks?" Hayato asked.

Tsuna shook his head. "No idea. Shoichi did some sort of experiment or something before his machine completely broke down. I'm not saying it's exact, but that's how he said it worked."

"Why would the war only last a month?" Takeshi asked. "And why would you know the exact time it's over?"

Tsuna smiled. "Because we had a plan to ambush the Argine at the convergence, when they had planned to wipe us out."

"What is convergence?"

"I'm not too sure," Tsuna admitted. "All I really know about it is that it's the one day the entire Argine Family and all of its allies get together. They're supposed to be doing something that day to try and wipe us out, but we're going to get there first. Or, we were."

"But now they don't have their Decimo," Dino said, sighing. "The Vongola will have to go on the offense without their leader if they want to survive."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Tsuna said. "Reborn and Hayato will figure out something."

"You seem to have a lot of faith in me," Reborn smirked. "What's to say that I won't try to take over the Vongola myself?"

"You are the only asshole I know that could possibly keep the Vongola from falling apart without me," Tsuna admitted cheekily. "And besides, Hayato will be there to keep you in line if you even think about trying to usurp me."

"Herbivore," Kyoya growled. "Get back on track. We need to stop the Argine herbivore."

Right. Focus.

Tsuna nodded. "Sorry, Hibari. So, any other ideas?"

Takeshi opened his mouth, and then promptly closed it, eyes widening as he stared at something behind Tsuna. Tsuna, intrigued, spun around, only for his jaw to hit the floor in shock. This definitely should not be possible yet.

It looked like someone was ripping the air apart, leaving a giant, gaping hole where there should be nothing but oxygen. On the other side of the whole, was a lab, fuzzy and hard to make out, but still distinguishable as a lab all the same, with Shoichi and Spanner sitting there yelling. It seemed like the portal was creating more of a disturbance on that side than it was on this side, based on the things flying around the room and the wind that whipped past Shoichi and Spanner. There was too much wind for Tsuna to hear properly, but he didn't particularly care.

Tsuna stared at the portal thing in awe.

"What the hell?" Dino asked.

"WHAT IS EXTREMELY HAPPENING?!" Ryohei yelled.

"What is _that_?" Takeshi wondered.

"There shouldn't be a way to rip open a hole to the future like this," Hayato muttered, his eyes never leaving the portal. "The space time continuum shouldn't allow it. It should destabilize the moment it's ripped open by force like this."

Tsuna faltered, spinning around to face the Storm Guardian. "What?"

Startled, Hayato looked to Tsuna, eyes wide. "T-Tenth?"

"What did you just say, Hayato?"

"Th-There's nothing there for the portal to stabilize in," Hayato said. "It shouldn't be possible to open a portal like this without something to support it on both sides. In all honesty, it should be failing."

"Why?" Tsuna asked, his tone urgent. "Why would it need something to support it on both sides?"

"If there's nothing to support it on one side, then the readings between the two dimensions will be too fluctuated and you shouldn't be able to open the portal. The readings need to be synched on both sides and something _has _to stabilize it, no matter what. There should be no way this is happening."

"But if we _get_ something to support it?" Tsuna asked, eyes alight with excitement. He had figured it out. All those failures that Shoichi had been faced with. They had always wanted to go back to the past to stop the Argine before they could get too dangerous, but they had always failed. "If we find a way to stabilize it on this side?"

"It should work perfectly as long as the machines are in tune with each other," Hayato said, looking somewhat alarmed. Both he and Tsuna turned their gazes back to the portal. "But this shouldn't be possible. It shouldn't be possible to rip the space between the two times open like this, without the support. It should be impossible."

Suddenly, Tsuna appeared. Not the future Tsuna, but the younger Tsuna. He walked towards the portal like he couldn't believe what was happening. Like he couldn't believe he was looking at his own time through the portal, and the older Tsuna felt his heart squeeze sympathetically.

The older Tsuna's time was horrifying, a wake-up call full of war and killing and harshness, and the younger Tsuna had been away from his own family and friends for at least a day, if not more. The younger Tsuna was probably longing to be in his own time, and the older Tsuna couldn't blame him one bit.

The younger Tsuna reached out a hand towards his friends, like it was his lifeline, but the older Tsuna knew better than to try and do what he knew his past self was trying to do. He couldn't jump through something that would probably kill him the moment he stepped in.

The older Tsuna and the younger Tsuna's family and friends watched in horror as Shoichi abandoned his station and forcefully dragged the younger Tsuna away. The older Tsuna's heart thumped loudly in his ears, but he could still seem to hear his younger counterpart's screams and Shoichi's "_SHUT IT DOWN! NOW!_" Both Tsunas watched as Spanner hesitated but then hit the orange button to shut down the machine.

The image of the other side of the portal sharpened in clarity suddenly before it all fizzled out and left Tsuna and the other occupants of the silent room in shock.

Tsuna felt breathless. Slowly, he turned to Reborn, the hitman staring straight back at him. They came to a silent agreement. Tsuna inhaled deeply before he let it out. With this information, they could get this to work.

"Hayato."

"T-Tenth," Hayato said, still in shock. "What is it?"

"If we create a support on this side, will the Shoichi and Spanner in my time be able to figure out that we did?"

Hayato nodded numbly. "In theory, as long as they have the readings tuned to this world, they should know. You would need to talk to Irie and Spanner in this time, though, to confirm."

Tsuna took another deep breath and looked each and every one of the room's occupants in the eyes. This was it. That's all the information he needed to know if this plan was going to work.

"What's up, Tsuna?" Takeshi asked. "What're you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's time to figure out how we're going to stop Argine and then call Shoichi and Spanner. Hopefully with them we can get your Tsuna back and I can go back home."

* * *

_2YL_

"Are you okay, Tsuna?" Dino asked the brunet. He sighed when his little brother just buried his face deeper into the blond's shoulder. This hadn't been what he was hoping for in the least. "Come on, Tsuna. We'll get you home as soon as we can, okay?"

Still nothing.

"Dino," Reborn said while he hauled Ryohei to his feet. Shoichi and Spanner were still glaring at the man like he was the devil incarnated. "We're meeting on the twenty-first floor in an hour. It's time we figured out how to go about this."

"Twenty-first?" Dino asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's okay? Random Family members are up there all of the time. Wouldn't the Guardians' meeting rooms be better?"

Reborn snorted. "Iemitsu doesn't have access to those meeting rooms. And he's the one who called the meeting. He heard about the Lab Incident."

Well, that was quick. Mostly because the machines had yet to be shut down for more than fifteen minutes and they were all still sitting _in_ Shoichi's lab. Iemitsu was usually on top of things, but not like this. This was super human, even for the External Advisor.

And since when were they calling this the Lab Incident?

"How does he know?" Romario asked, mirroring Dino's thoughts. "It hasn't been that long."

Reborn sighed. "Who knows how that man knows anything? Anyways, the meeting might not be about Tsuna's switch, but I figure it's time for everyone to know about it anyways, to stop rumors before they can start. We don't want this leaking."

"Yeah, sure," Dino said, rather uncertainly. He looked down at the boy that had his arms wrapped around Dino's torso, squeezing as if the moment he let go, everything would break down in front of him. Ruffling the boy's spiky locks fondly, Dino turned back to Reborn. "What about Tsuna, though?"

"What about him?"

"He can't come."

"Why wouldn't he?"

Dino blanched. "You're kidding, right? This kid just went through a hell of a lot of mental trauma and what you're basically telling him is to 'suck it up'. The moment he steps foot into that meeting, this is going to get political and argumentative. He's fourteen, breaking down, and he can't handle this. He's not up to this right now."

"So what are we supposed to do? Wait for him to pull it together?"

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you, Reborn?!" Dino yelled, pulling Tsuna closer to him. "You're acting like he's not your student! Don't you care about him?!"

"I'm acting like this because he _isn't_ my student," Reborn growled. "He's not the Tsuna from this time."

"And what does that have to do with anything?! He's still Tsuna! He's still the kid who will grow up to be the Vongola Decimo! He's _still your student!_"

"You don't understand," Reborn hissed, his hand twitching for his gun. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Then make me understand!" Dino yelled.

"Please stop," A voice said hoarsely, his voice breaking slightly. Tsuna shifted enough so that he could peek up at Dino. However timid the attempt, Dino was glad that Tsuna had at least managed to make an effort. His face was tear-streaked and his eyes were red and puffy from crying. "Please don't fight right now. _Please._"

Although Tsuna's voice was barely a whisper, Dino couldn't help but deflate at the clear brokenness the voice held. He couldn't deny Tsuna when he sounded like _that_.

"Okay, Tsuna," Dino agreed, rubbing the boy's back soothingly. "Okay. We won't fight anymore."

"I want to go to the meeting."

Dino, surprised, stared down at his little brother in wonderment. "Why?"

"I don't want to be left out again. Not again."

Sighing, Dino found that, once again, he couldn't deny Tsuna when the kid looked so completely heartbroken. Speaking to both Tsuna and Reborn, Dino complied. "Fine. We'll go to the meeting."

Reborn nodded stiffly and turned towards the elevator, dragging the downcast Ryohei with him. Shoichi and Spanner were a step behind them. "It starts in ten minutes. Don't be late."

* * *

**To Animaddict - **Ryohei isn't the most attentive to feelings, but, even though this chapter didn't really include the younger Tsuna a lot, next chapter will. The younger Tsuna is breaking down quickly and there will be a lot of sharing feelings about Tsuna's situation in the next chapter. And yes, as you can see from this chapter, Dino has started out accepting Tsuna unconditionally and he's wondering what the heck is going on with everyone else! Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**To tofldh - **Things are starting to pick up and tension is high! And yes, the Argine boss does blame the Vongola for the earthquake, no matter how necessary it was. But Argine doesn't care. He needs an outlet for his anger and he focused on Tsuna, even though he should be grateful to Tsuna for saving the future from Byakuran. In his mind, his revenge is justified. Thank you for your review!

**To BlackShadow1 - **Tsuna just needs a big hug! Thank you for your review!

**To shinXlullaby - **I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for reviewing! It means a lot to me!

**To lovleydragonfly - **Yep, Tsuna needs a vacation. Thank you for your review!

**To Takatou - **Yes, the future Guardians are good at pushing, and eventually they'll realize that they're doing more harm than help. And Tsuna, while he recognizes that they aren't really _his_ Guardians, still wants to protect them because that's what he was taught. To him, Family is important. But, it's causing him grief to keep trying to stand up after every push to the ground. I agree with you. Sometimes you've got to break down and the next time you stand up, you'll be stronger. It's something that Tsuna has yet to realize, though, and that's the goal of next chapter. Actually, I was going to go a different route, but your review inspired me, so thank you so much! Thanks for your review!

**To Failing Mentality - **I'm glad you're interested in both the younger and older Tsuna. It's a lot of fun to write 2YL!Tsuna, but I also love delving into the feelings the younger Tsuna has hidden inside him. I'm happy that you think I'm doing okay with the friendship concept and the perils of time-travel. I've tried my best to explore both as much as the story allows me to. And I promise Tsuna will get that hug! Just you wait! Thank you for your review!

Again, thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! It means a lot! Also, if you didn't read it at the top, I have the schedule for this stiory posted on my profile and it's up to date. If you want to know when I'm posting, you can check out my profile.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter isn't as long as the others, but it settles a lot of things. So yeah. Enjoy!

Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed! You guys are amazing!

* * *

Hands slapped down on the table and Tsuna couldn't help but flinch. It must have been violently, too, for Dino was sending him a frown from his seat next to his brother. Tsuna barely acknowledged the Cavallone boss's actions, though. He was too busy avoiding his father's scathing look.

"How am I supposed to accept that?" Iemitsu asked, his voice worryingly calm. "You can't just expect me to not care about the fact that my son is _in another world_."

Tsuna just wrapped his blanket around himself just a bit tighter. Really, what had he been expecting? His future self's guardians had already practically disowned him. Why would his father be any different? If anything, he probably should have expected his father to be worse.

Everyone was sitting at a round table in one of the Family meeting rooms. Tsuna was sat next to Dino and Yamamoto, wrapped up in a warm blanket because it apparently helped for shock. Tsuna hadn't been sure he was really in shock—depressed; angry maybe; definitely frustrated—but he accepted the offered blanket anyway and didn't sweat what the others were thinking.

None of this mattered. Not one thing being said mattered. Because he had seen it with his own eyes. He had seen his own world and his own family and he didn't need these people, so why did it matter if they cared for him or not?

And yet, he couldn't help but feel so alone, even though he was the one isolating himself from his friends' future counterparts.

"Tsuna."

A hand rested on his shoulder, but Tsuna hardly reacted. If it had been anybody but Dino, he might have, but Dino was the only one who had even shown him an ounce of gentleness. This Dino didn't seem two years older like everyone else did.

Still, he wasn't from this future. This Dino wasn't _his_ Dino. He was such an idiot. Wanting to be included, to not be left behind again, but who was he kidding? He was already behind. _Two years_ behind. He had one heck of a catch up to play, and he was absolutely sure he couldn't do it.

Why did he ever bother to try anymore?

"Tsuna," Dino said again, his voice soothing and gentle. A warm hand cupped his cheek while another, smaller hand rubbed his back using rhythmic circles. It was calloused and rough against his back, but still, Tsuna found himself leaning into the touch.

"Hey," Yamamoto said softly; sadly. Like he couldn't bear to watch Tsuna break down in fear of breaking down himself. "Hey, Tsuna. Don't cry."

Was he crying? Tsuna wasn't all that sure. All he knew was that the world around him blurred and he was choking on his own breaths, struggling to breathe through the collapsing of his shattered heart. He was overwhelmed and it looked like everything he had bottled up was starting to leak out in the form of the tears sliding down his cheeks.

This was dumb. A shaky hand swiped across his cheeks in attempt to wipe away the tear tacks, but only he only succeeded in smearing the tears. This was so dumb and he just wanted time to stop. To recollect himself, so he could back stronger and maybe a bit more stable.

"I _told_ you," Dino hissed suddenly, but Tsuna knew that Dino was no longer speaking to him. Dino was speaking to someone else. A someone else that was stoically sitting in his seat next to Iemitsu, watching Tsuna try to put himself back together with an indifference that had Tsuna wanting to run for his life.

Just who was this guy? Was this _really_ Reborn?

"I told you that he wasn't ready for this," Dino growled. "You may have been my teacher, but the Inheritance ceremony must have screwed you up even more than I thought if you can't even tell the difference between what matters now and what matters later."

Tsuna had stopped crying and was now, along with pretty much everyone else in the room, glancing back and forth between the two Mafioso. They had been talking like this before, too. Back in the lab.

"You. Don't. Know. _Anything_," Reborn spat and Tsuna thought that he had never been more scared of his tutor in his life than in this moment. "We have a war to win."

Dino exploded. He stood from his chair, scooting it back a couple of inches and letting it make horrible scraping sound. "Then treat him like a person, you bastard!"

Yamamoto stood up at that moment and banged a fist on the table. "That's enough!" he yelled, eyes sharp and back tensed. Tsuna flinched the moment the baseball player's hand came down, but surprisingly, didn't shy away from the angry guardian like he had expected himself to.

"Takeshi-"

Yamamoto glared at Dino. "Shut up. Sit down. And let me handle this. I'm tired of this argument. I'm tired of everything that we have to put up with because people can't seem to realize something."

"And what are we supposed to realize?" Gokudera sneered from across the table, his gaze just as hard.

Yamamoto's eyes softened and his expression morphed into something more morose, like he was grieving. "What's the most important thing? What's the most important thing in our lives? Something that we all treasure?"

The room was silent for a moment, but Tsuna could almost see the gears working in everyone's head—except for Hibari. The Cloud Guardian was staring at him from his seat next to Gokudera, like he was expecting Tsuna to answer Yamamoto's question.

And maybe he was. Maybe Hibari didn't care at all whether he was the older Tsuna or not. Maybe he expected just as much from him as he did the Tsuna's future self. Maybe that's why he didn't hold back in training that morning.

And before Tsuna knew it, he was talking; speaking the answer that everyone should have known.

"Family," Tsuna whispered, his voice breaking before growing stronger. "It's family. We're supposed to be a family, no matter what time we're from."

Yamamoto nodded, a carefree smile falling into place. "Right, Tsuna. Over the years, we've learned that family is important. That we put family before anything else. That we protect them and treasure them. That your family is more important than your own life."

"What's your point, Yamamoto?" Gokudera asked. "We know that already."

Yamamoto sighed. "I don't think you do. None of you realize that the most important thing in our lives needs protecting. He's here and he's alone and we've all been pushing him away."

There was a stunned silence. Nobody spoke, and all eyes were on Yamamoto as he gazed into each and every one of the room's occupants' eyes.

"Y-You're kidding, right?" Gokudera spluttered. "The Tenth is _gone_. He's not here."

"Maybe our Tsuna is gone," Dino put in, glaring fiercely at Gokudera, "but that doesn't mean the Tsuna that came in his place is any less Tsuna!"

Tsuna was absolutely stunned. What was going on? Were…Were Dino and Yamamoto trying to tell everyone to accept him? At that prospect, he couldn't help but feel an odd mixture between nervousness and relief. If they really would accept him, that would make all of this easier. He'd be so much happier. But, if they were to accept him, would they be accepting him for him, or because Yamamoto and Dino told them to?

But...Gokudera...?

"He may not be the omnivore," Hibari interjected, "but we all knew him as the herbivore. He is someone that we have fought alongside of in countless battles. Why should it matter which time the herbivore has come from?"

Mukuro's mouth pulled taut, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked Tsuna up and down. Finally, after a moment of contemplation, the pineapple-haired man smirked. "It doesn't matter what time you're from, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Either way, I will possess your body and bring the mafia to its knees."

Tsuna shivered. Hibari and Mukuro were accepting him, and while Hibari's reasoning seemed like it wasn't actually going to teeter towards violence, Mukuro's reasoning chilled him. Chrome was sitting right beside him, so obviously he had escaped Vendicare, and that made the threat seem much more real and terrifying.

Beside Mukuro, Chrome smiled at him. "Boss," she started. "I'm not sure what it was that happened to you, but me and Mukuro-sama are always here for you, just like you were here for me."

Mukuro frowned, but didn't dispute what Chrome had said, proving to Tsuna that his two Mist Guardians really meant what they were saying. Tsuna smiled weakly at the two of them, hoping that they would understand that he was grateful for their words.

Ryohei stood up next, his head hanging. "I'm sorry, Sawada. I didn't mean to-"

"No," Tsuna interrupted. He swallowed thickly. "No. Don't do that. You didn't- You didn't mean to bring me down there. You just…forgot."

Even to Tsuna's ears the excuse sounded more than pathetic. He didn't know why he was even trying to excuse Ryohei's actions, anyways.

Maybe he wouldn't feel so broken if he hadn't saw the world he was missing. Maybe he wouldn't feel so broken if he had just been accepted as Tsuna. Not Tsuna from the past. Not Tsuna from the future. Just Tsuna. He was just Tsuna. He was just a boy who wanted to be with the most important thing in the world. His family.

And yet, while Ryohei's actions had caused him to break down, had caused his heart to shatter violently into a thousand little pieces, Tsuna found that he couldn't blame him. He had seen what he was missing, but it hadn't been anything he didn't already know. It hadn't been anything he hadn't already been missing.

Tsuna sighed. This was getting tiring. He'd already had training that morning, and now he was emotionally as well as physically exhausted.

"Sawada," Ryohei said, his voice rather unenthusiastic. "I extremely didn't try hard enough to remember and I will increase my training and ty harder next time. I will even write it down on my hand."

"That's okay," Tsuna said. "Don't worry about it."

Tsuna wasn't sure what was really going on, but it seemed as if Yamamoto's speech had gotten somewhere with his guardian's future counterparts. The only ones who hadn't said anything were Lambo and Gokudera.

Lambo wasn't actually in the room, though, so that didn't mean much. But Gokudera's glare did seem a lot less certain, as if he were actually contemplating Yamamoto's words instead of brushing them off like his Gokudera would do.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said, catching the brunet's attention. "Tsuna, this is a two way street. I know we haven't tried the hardest to understand your situation, but you have to try to understand us, too. The only way we're going to make it through this is together."

"You're blaming _him_?" Dino asked, turning on Yamamoto. "From what I've seen, you guys need to seriously reevaluate everything around here. He's done nothing-"

"He doesn't trust us," Hibari countered.

"And why should he?" Dino spluttered. "When all you have done is shun him, why should he put any faith in you, Kyoya?"

"I have done nothing," Hibari hissed. "I accepted him the moment he withstood my attacks. The moment he first went into Hyper mode, the moment he stood up to me, even when it was obvious the herbivore was terrified, he was accepted."

"I recall you walking out, you damn prefect," Gokudera spat. "You walked out on him then, didn't you? Even when it was obvious he was hurt?"

Hibari's gaze was even. "I do not deny my actions. He was accepted, but that does not mean I will coddle him. I have better things to do than look after herbivores."

"Bastard!" Gokudera yelled, hands slamming flat onto the table.

"_Hayato_."

Gokudera flinched and straightened, meeting Yamamoto's sharp amber stare. The two were silent for a moment, communicating with their eyes rather than words, and Tsuna was awed by the amount of trust and understanding it must have taken to do something like that. Eventually, Gokudera slumped back into his chair, glaring sullenly at the wooden table.

Yamamoto's gaze softened as he watched Gokudera. And now that Gokudera wasn't looking at Yamamoto anymore, the baseball player couldn't avoid speaking out loud.

"Hayato, this isn't as complicated it as you're making it out to be."

Gokudera snorted. "Like hell it isn't."

Yamamoto sighed but didn't press any further. The room's other occupants, beside Reborn and Tsuna, were left wondering just what in the hell that had been about. Tsuna could see it on their faces. But Tsuna wasn't left wondering. He may not have known exactly what it was that had the two at odds, but he understood enough to know that their argument was about him.

"_You know, you don't have to be here."_

"_It's not fair to him if I'm not."_

That's what Yamamoto and Gokudera had been talking about earlier, too. Something about Tsuna was pissing Gokudera off and he wasn't exactly sure what it was. All he knew was that it hadn't really started until the elevator incident when he had collapsed.

"_Hayato, maybe you should leave. You said that you didn't want to be here and if it was unfair to Tsuna before then it's even more unfair to him now."_

Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what exactly Yamamoto had meant by that. Just what were they hiding?

Iemitsu cleared his throat and Tsuna's attention immediately snapped to his father. The man looked almost…apologetic.

"Look, Tsunayoshi," his father started awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair. "Tsunayoshi, I know that this is difficult for you, and I know you miss home. But you have to understand that acceptance doesn't come easy. Neither does trust."

Tsuna felt a lump in his throat, suddenly, creating a foreign pressure that was starting to build up almost too rapidly. He knew that. He _knew_ that. But it wasn't that easy. It wasn't just cut and dry like that. These people were his friends, and yet they weren't.

"What's your point, Iemitsu?" Reborn asked. He looked annoyed.

"My point is, that we miss our Tsunayoshi and you miss home, but we can't accept you that easily. Trust is earned."

"That-"

Tsuna cut himself off, blinking away the tears that were gathering at the edge of his vision. He swallowed against the lump in his throat, against the pressure that seemed to still be building up in his chest, against the roar of indignation in his ears.

"That…That doesn't make any sense," Tsuna finally stuttered out. "How is that supposed to make sense?"

And that's when he realized how right he was. Iemitsu's words really didn't make any sense. This was his family. Future family, maybe, but didn't that just give him a chance to look forward to how exactly they developed and changed to how they were now? As family, wasn't he supposed to accept them for who they were? Give them his trust?

Yamamoto was still Yamamoto, even if he was less carefree. Tsuna bet he still loved baseball with all of his heart. He knew that Yamamoto still understood the meaning of family. That he still understood what it was that mattered to him.

Gokudera was still Gokudera, even if he didn't seem to hold the same devotion to him. Even if he wasn't as brash and impulsive as he used to be. Tsuna guessed that he probably still used dynamite and still got in reckless fights and arguments with Yamamoto, even if he hadn't seen them. Tsuna knew that Gokudera had just wanted somewhere to fit in, and Tsuna was sure that's exactly what he still wanted.

And his other guardians, too. They weren't as different as he had thought they had been.

Ryohei was still loud and obnoxious, and while he seemed to have matured some, he still made reckless, stupid mistakes. He still forgot things. He had changed, but he was still Ryohei.

Hibari, too. He didn't seem to mind as much about people crowding (probably because ehe understood the importance of meetings and training with the war and all), but he still called Tsuna an herbivore. He had matured to the point where he could allow some people close to him, but that didn't mean he had to like his space invaded.

Mukuro still seemed the exact same, although Tsuna hadn't really spent any quality time with the illusionist, so he couldn't say anything for sure. Chrome, too. The only thing Tsuna could really tell was different was that she seemed a lot more outgoing and less soft spoken, and that thought made Tsuna's heart swell.

They were still Mukuro and Chrome, anyways. They were still themselves, even if they had changed.

And Lambo. He really had grown up uite a bit, but that didn't mean he wasn't still a crybaby with far too many weapons on hand. The cow child was still his little brother, even if he had matured some. Even if he was smarter and less reckless. He was still Lambo.

Their experiences were those that Tsuna hadn't gone through himself yet, but he would. He would grow up and in two years, he would be friends with amazing people who he thought of as family, no matter how they changed.

Tears were brought to his eyes as Tsuna realized all of this. Iemitsu had been _wrong_. Trust might not be easily gained, but he already trusted these people with his life. He had put his faith in them a long time ago. Even longer for them. He trusted them because, even if they were older, even if they had changed and developed differently than he remembered them, they were his family. And his family meant the world to him.

So why couldn't they accept him? Why couldn't they see that he was their family, too? No matter what time he was from, he was just Tsuna.

But he guessed most of them pretty much had. They had accepted him, and Tsuna hadn't even realized it. They had taken some time to get used to him, but in the end, they had understood that he was Tsuna.

"_Tsuna, this is a two way street. I know we haven't tried the hardest to understand your situation, but you have to try to understand us, too. The only way we're going to make it through this is together."_

Yamamoto hadn't been blaming him. He'd been telling Tsuna that they couldn't go on like this. That this took more than just one person. It took all of them. They all had to trust each other because they were family. And family got through things together.

Tsuna heaved a sob. The pressure in his chest was almost crushing. Tears streamed down his cheeks and, this time, he didn't even attempt to wipe them away. This was something he needed. He was tired of holding it all in. He was tired of trying to blind himself to his own pain.

Tsuna was hurting. He missed home. He missed his family in the present. He missed everything about his world, but he had finally been accepted here. He was hurt and his heart had been stomped on and shattered, but it was slowly piecing itself back together.

As much as he hurt for his own world, he was no longer a stranger here. He was Sawada Tsunayoshi. He was family, and he had been accepted, even if not by all. Just one had been enough.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said gently, hands cupping Tsuna's face. "Hey, Tsuna. You're okay. We're all here for you."

Tsuna nodded, tears still blinding him and creating a blurry outlook. He couldn't see the others clearly, but he knew that they had risen from their seats the moment he had started crying. Oh how he had missed their concern, even if he felt guilty for eliciting it.

"I know," Tsuna whispered. "I know you are."

* * *

Tsuna had eventually stopped blubbering, but he had been practically worn out by the time he had finished. Yamamoto couldn't help but take pity on the poor boy, knowing that Tsuna was probably wrung out mentally, physically, and emotionally. So Yamamoto had gathered Tsuna up—blanket and all—and ignored any and all protest, settling him on his lap and tucking the boy's head under his chin.

Tsuna had struggled weakly for a moment, but then just resigned himself to his fate, settling down and listening to the rest of the meeting. No one said anything about Tsuna's acceptance or anything else like it. This was purely a war council, now.

Yamamoto knew Tsuna was listening to Iemitsu's rantings about army numbers, even if Tsuna didn't seem like he was paying any attention. There was no way someone like Tsuna, who concerned himself with everything that had to do with his family, wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to gather some information on this war.

After Tsuna had started crying, the guardians had settled down quite a bit. Conversation steered away from Iemitsu's accusation, and instead, everyone started to focus on the bigger problem. What to do now that Tsuna from the past was stuck here.

Shoichi's machine was a no go. According to Spanner, they weren't going to be able to fix the damage to the machine in time for the execution to the plan. Apparently the premature opening of the portal and the fact that they had accidentally ripped a hole in the past, things weren't really boding well for Tsuna's return.

Yamamoto guessed Tsuna was probably feeling horribly guilty for that, even though it really wasn't his fault. But, Tsuna was the type to blame himself. If he wasn't feeling guilty or sad or depressed after hearing Spanner speak, then Yamamoto was a flying pig.

After getting that out of the way, Iemitsu had started chattering on about this mission and that mission and things that Yamamoto didn't really find important. Instead of listening, Yamamoto's thoughts turned to other things. Like Reborn.

Reborn was sitting by Iemitsu, looking as stoic as ever. He looked like he was paying attention, but Yamamoto knew that Reborn could multitask really well. When Reborn's eyes flickered over to Tsuna's still form and then back to Iemitsu, Yamamoto couldn't help but heave a sigh. So this was still about Tsuna.

"What do you think, Takeshi?" Hayato asked, pulling the swordsman's attention away from Reborn.

Yamamoto looked over at his fellow guardian, not understanding the question at first. Then he laughed, realizing that he probably should have been paying a little more attention since he was a guardian. For some reason, they always seemed too ask his opinion.

"About what?" he asked good-naturedly.

Gokudera just slapped a hand to his forehead, grumbling about how swordsman were good for nothing idiots that thought with their muscles rather than their brains. Yamamoto just chuckled lightly as Gokudera went on.

"He's asking about how you think your mission will go since you're no longer leading it," Reborn put in. "Because of the meeting, we had to pull everyone off of their missions and replace them with high ranking Family members. How do you think yours will go?"

Yamamoto shrugged. It wasn't as if his had been a hard mission. Just a supply run for the base. "They'll probably be fine. My trainees are pretty strong."

Gokudera sighed and leaned into his hand. "Why aren't you paying attention, you idiot?"

Yamamoto's lips quirked up into a smile. They had the whole table's attention, and though it should have been disconcerting, he was used to these people. He knew them enough to know that this wouldn't affect anything. And besides, it wasn't like this was the first time Gokudera had reprimanded him.

"I was thinking."

"What could a sword freak like you possibly have to think about?"

Yamamoto wrapped his arms tighter around the Tsuna bundle, answering the bomber silently. Tsuna was one of the most important people in his life. Why wouldn't he think about him when something like this was happening?

Gokudera sighed, understanding what he was trying to say but not why he was trying to say it. Yamamoto didn't blame Gokudera for that, of course. Gokudera didn't see things quite the same way as Yamamoto did.

"What we need to talk about is the resonance plan," Iemitsu said suddenly, snapping everyone's attention to himself. "This isn't going to work like this."

"And why not?" Mukuro asked, his voice calm and level but his eyes screaming death, rage, and pain. "Why wouldn't it work? If Tsunayoshi trains, he may be able to pull out the power in time."

"Every _single_ one of you is a moron if you think that the Tsuna from the past can help us at all," Iemitsu hissed. "You are all forgetting one important thing."

Yamamoto frowned. "What?"

Reborn sat up suddenly, cursing under his breath. Then he glared at Iemitsu. "You've got to be kidding me."

Tsuna's father snorted. "There is no way in hell I would even think about joking about something like this."

"Damn," Reborn growled. "Damn it all to hell."

Dino, Hibari, Mukuro, Chrome, Ryohei, and Yamamoto all stared at the hitman. The only time he had ever seen the man so riled up was at the inheritance ceremony six months ago when the Ninth had been killed and Tsuna had killed the Argine spy. Iemitsu didn't seem bothered by Reborn's swearing, which was a little odd, but it was Gokudera that Yamamoto thought had the oddest reaction.

The bomber was staring at the table, not Reborn, first of all. And second of all, he was hewing on his lip. Gokudera was thinking, and Yamamoto could almost see the gears turning in his head. The silver-haired teen was catching on to whatever it was that had Reborn so riled up.

"What's extremely going on?" Ryohei asked, looking back and forth between Iemitsu and Reborn.

"The Vongola Gear."

Yamamoto looked to Gokudera and at the same time, he felt Tsuna twitch curiously in his arms.

"What about it?" Yamamoto asked, not liking where this was going. "What does the Vongola Gear have to do with the…oh."

Yamamoto blinked. It had finally hit him. They had the Vongola Gear, but Tsuna had the original Vongola Ring. They had no idea if they would still resonate together if Tsuna, at the core, didn't have the Vongola Gear like his future self. They hadn't tested it with the Ring since Tsuna wasn't strong enough to control it yet, but it had never even occurred to Yamamoto that this could be a problem.

"It's all Vongola," Chrome put in. "It has to work, right?"

"Not necessarily," Hibari said, his eyes narrowing. "The Vongola Gear was created with our own wills, not the wills of our ancestors. The herbivores ring was released by Primo. Who knows what it'll do."

"What are you…." Tsuna hesitated, sluggishly sitting up to face the others. "What are you talking about? Vongola Gear?"

"You'll understand in the future," Yamamoto said gently. "For now, just think of it kind of like an upgrade. But we're not sure if the upgrades will resonate with the original. Does that make sense?"

Tsuna stared at him and for a moment, all Yamamoto could take in was the shadows underneath his eyes and the exhausted look on his pale face. The poor kid was probably more than done with today.

Instead of speaking again, Tsuna just nodded and tucked himself back into the blanket. Yamamoto wrapped his arms around the boy again and everyone else settled down.

"There's no point in worrying about something so trivial," Mukuro finally said. "Either it works or it doesn't. We have no other choice if we want to win."

Gokudera glared at the illusionist, hackles raised. "You bastard! Who do you-?"

"As much as I hate to admit it," Dino interrupted, "Mukuro is right. It's a gamble that we're going to have to take. We're out of options."

"Kufufu. Glad I'm not the only one," Mukuro said. "This war has gone on for far too long. The Vongola has to be the ones to end it or else this mafia family will be eradicated. That's bad news for me since the Argine seems to associate me with the Vongola. If the Vongola falls, no one will make it out alive."

And with those morbid words, Mukuro gestured to Chrome and the two illusionists left the room without a glance behind them. Yamamoto laughed. Well, Mukuro wasn't wrong, and even if his priorities weren't exactly straight, he had the right idea.

"I guess this meeting's over then," Yamamoto said cheerfully.

Letting Dino pull Tsuna into a standing position (which was really just Tsuna blinking heavily while he was vertical and Dino was supporting most of the boy's weight), Yamamoto stood up and stretched. Dino swept Tsuna off of his feet and carried Tsuna bridle style out of the room. Yamamoto waved to the others and followed Dino out.

"Where is he staying?" Dino asked.

Yamamoto smiled. "Bring him to my room. I really don't want him to be alone after that."

Dino nodded and stepped into the elevator, Yamamoto on his heels.

They hadn't gotten much settled in that meeting, Yamamoto realized. It had basically just been a means to get Tsuna to understand that they trusted him and they just needed him to trust them back. And thankfully, Tsuna had understood. He had accepted them as much as they accepted him, and Yamamoto couldn't help but feel happy at that accomplishment, war stuff be damned.

And so, even if their world was collapsing under a war between two mafia families, Yamamoto couldn't help but think that this was the happiest he had found himself in a long time.

* * *

So, yeah. Like I said. Lots of things got settled in this chapter and things are going to start really picking up. Like with Tsuna's training and stuff. There will be more action in the next chapter, I promise. Also, we're stepping closer to the Reborn's problem with Tsuna. Eventually I'll get there. '-.- Maybe.

I am exhausted, though, so I'm hoping that everything made sense and there weren't any errors. It's been a long day and as I was typing this, my dad was admitted to the hospital, so I was really pouring all of my feelings into this one while I waited to hear any news. Pleas tell me what you guys think, and if you guys have any questions I promise to do my best to answer them.

Anyways, thanks to **Torashii, general zargon, tofldh, lovleydragonfly, Animadict, **and **Failing Mentality **for your reviews! You guys are amazing! I enjoyed your commentary and I'm glad that you all liked it.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi.

Okay, first off, I'd like to say that camping for a week leads to a severe case of bug bites that I still have NOT gotten rid of yet. Anyways, if you guys didn't check my tumblr or my profile, then SURPRISE! I'm back! And yes, it IS a double update! Chapter 12 is right around the corner and will be posted later tonight! Anyways, I did push the training back a chapter because I figured you guys needed chapter before we get to the heavy stuff. So, yeah. Here it is!

Thank you to all the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are the best!

* * *

_It was only after Reborn came back from his trip to Italy did he notice something was off._

_The house was bustling, as usual. Nana was in the kitchen, humming as she stirred the simmering soup. Lambo and I-pin were noisily making a mess in the kitchen while Fuuta read a book at the table. Bianchi wasn't anywhere to be seen, but that was probably because she was still making the return trip from stalking Reborn in Italy._

_The only one missing was Tsuna, but Reborn had a pretty clear idea of where his student was, especially since it was a Thursday night. Gokudera was restocking his weapons and Yamamoto had baseball practice. Neither would be occupying Tsuna's time._

_Hopping up the stairs, Reborn quickly made his way to Tsuna's room and pushed the door open._

"_I'm back," he called._

_Tsuna didn't look up from the open textbook he was scanning. The boy was leaning back against his headboard studying the book more avidly than Reborn could have ever hoped to get him to with threats of explosives, electrocution, or other possibly deadly tactics._

"_What are you reading?"_

"_The next chapter for history."_

"_Instead of playing video games?" Reborn asked, taking the liberty to jump up onto his student's desk to diminish the height difference between them. If possible, Reborn liked to be looking down at others. "Don't you usually take any chance you get to slack off when I'm gone?"_

_Tsuna grimaced, finally glancing up at the hitman. He shifted a bit, like he was uncomfortable, and Reborn's curiosity was officially peaked. Tsuna didn't do homework just to do homework. There had to be a reason behind this._

"_This is different."_

"_How so?"_

"_Kyoko-chan wants to discuss this chapter tomorrow before school so we can prepare for the test. I figured that I might as well try to understand it on my own since I didn't know what time you would be back."_

_Reborn almost snorted. That and Tsuna didn't want to be subjected to Reborn's tutoring tactics. _

_The hitman turned Tsuna's words over in his mind after a moment, testing them. There was something almost odd about his student's response, now that he thought about it. It didn't surprise Reborn that Tsuna was willingly doing something he hated for his crush, but, he sounded too…flat. Like he was dreading something. And it didn't seem like it was the actual homework. No, it was something else._

"_Shouldn't you be a little more excited?" Reborn asked. "You're usually all starry-eyed whenever Kyoko asks you to hang out together."_

_Tsuna shrugged, shutting his textbook with unusual gentleness before setting it aside. The boy averted his eyes, his mouth morphing into a small, almost wistful smile._

"_I guess I should be, but, I mean, ever since we made it back from the future, I feel like I'm too old to be stuck in a place where everything's the same as when I was younger and inexperienced."_

_Reborn hummed. The future was often their topic of conversation nowadays. Everyone was still adjusting to the past and Reborn, who was pretty adaptable and hadn't had that much of a hard time, was doing his best to help Tsuna through anything that cropped up._

_Like this._

_This was a tricky one, though. Maturing and growing up in a different time, under different circumstances than your used to and then being thrown back into a world that hadn't moved forward and being forced to interact with people who don't know you've changed; it had to be more than difficult. Tsuna had told him so more than a few times._

"_You sound like an old man looking back on his life," Reborn teased before sobering up. Tsuna was his student, after all. "But Kyoko has been with you since the beginning of all this. You know that she won't have noticed your differences as much. It won't be some big dramatic change to her. She already knows you, so why don't you seem excited to see her?" Reborn asked again._

_Tsuna twitched at his tutor's words and then stilled completely, an odd habit he seemed to have picked up in the future. When Reborn had commented on this, Tsuna had told him he had a hard time moving if he was thinking about something too deeply, past his Intuition. Honestly, it had Reborn more than baffled._

_Tsuna narrowed his eyes slightly then, and Reborn knew he had finished thinking about his situation._

"_Yeah, I guess she does know me better," Tsuna relented, but not without a heavy sigh. "I love talking to her. And I think if it were anywhere else, I'd be totally willing to hang out with her, even if we were just studying. But right now…right now, school isn't exactly the place I'm itching to be."_

"_You never want to go to school," Reborn chided._

_Tsuna shook his head, his expression softening ever so slightly. "That's not all true. Sure, I hate studying, but before, my friends were there so I was fine. I could keep going and have a great time with them, even if I had to put up with all of the craziness, and not to mention the bullies."_

"_But now?"_

"_Now it just feels kind of pointless," Tsuna sighed, snatching up his textbook and flipping it open to the correct page. "Like the…Kamakura period."_

_The boy went back to his reading anyways._

_Reborn sighed lightly. He hadn't known anything about Tsuna having trouble going back to school, but he supposed having been back less than three weeks and spending half of that time in Italy, it wasn't surprising that he hadn't picked up on it. He'd have to look into it more tomorrow, when he could observe his student in the actual setting. For now, he would let the conversation drop. If Tsuna didn't want to talk, Reborn wouldn't force him._

"_Mama said she'll have dinner ready any minute," Reborn said, deciding to switch gears. Tsuna would talk when he was ready._

_The boy looked up at his tutor and then at the clock. He turned to the window with a raised eyebrow, eyeing the position of the sun._

"_Really?" Tsuna asked, sounding doubtful. "I just barely got home from school an hour ago. Why so early?"_

"_Your father still isn't quite used to the time difference," Reborn said, a small smirk on his face. "It's still morning in Italy. He called ahead and Mama knew to make food so it would be ready about the time we got here."_

_Tsuna's eyes slid closed as he groaned pathetically, closing the textbook a second time. "You've got to be kidding me," the boy complained. "Why did he have to come now?"_

_Reborn shrugged, his smirk falling away. "After the meeting with the Ninth, he said he wanted some time off to come see you and Mama."_

"_Was the meeting important?" Tsuna asked. "Anything that would make him want to hide from work?"_

_Reborn shook his head. "We just discussed the memories from the future. Nono and Iemitsu are trying to plan ahead, figure out what their next move is going to be."_

"_Did they decide?"_

"_There were ideas tossed around," Reborn said vaguely, "but nothing set in stone. The Ninth probably wanted some more time to think things over. I think that's why Iemitsu's here, so he won't hound the Ninth over Vongola's future. We'll probably be called back soon enough."_

_Tsuna did nothing more than groan and let his head hit the headboard with a loud thump at that information. Reborn wasn't surprised, knowing how much the boy resented Iemitsu sometimes. Tsuna was quick to get annoyed by the overbearing father, and Reborn knew that this was going to be a long week._

"_This is exactly what I didn't need," Tsuna mumbled._

_The hitman smirked. Sometimes the boy set himself up, making it too easy for Reborn to take advantage of the opportunity._

"_What you do need is to finish that chapter before I string you up by your feet and make you recite the birth place and date of every single leader in Japanese history._

"_This chapter is about the Kamakura period, Reborn," Tsuna reminded him._

_Reborn shrugged. "Not my problem. You don't want to recite it, then you finish the chapter. And I will be quizzing you on what you read afterwards. You get something wrong and you can kiss your eyebrows goodbye."_

_Tsuna, probably getting too used to life with the greatest hitman in the world, looked more exasperated than threatened. He just waved a hand in the air and opened his textbook._

"_Don't do anything weird to me, Reborn. I was going to finish it anyways."_

_Yeah, exasperated Tsuna wasn't as amusing as terrified Tsuna, but Reborn had already experienced this with Dino once before. Tsuna was growing up, and although he could be quite a sadist, the satisfaction of seeing a student learn and grow far outweighed the satisfaction of seeing his student wet his pants in terror, no matter how amusing the latter was._

_Tsuna was looking at him strangely now that Reborn had gone silent. "What's with the creepy look?"_

_Reborn smirked again as he pulled his fedora down to shadow his eyes, going for a sort of dramatic affect. Jumping over to where Tsuna sat on the bed, the hitman hurled a foot at the boy, catching his jaw and sending him back into the headboard with a yelp._

"_Dame-Tsuna. I already told you what would happen if you slacked off."_

_The boy raised a fist, the other hand holding his bruised jaw carefully, and Reborn thought that maybe, just maybe, he might have gone a little too hard on his student. Being away from Tsuna for a week had caused him to forget about holding back his strength, unfortunately. Italy wasn't a place for weaklings, and Reborn's body hadn't really gotten the message that he was in teacher mode right now, not in assassin mode. He'd have to be more careful from now on._

"_Reborn!" Tsuna cried, looking like he wanted to either punch his tutor or sob his eyes out. "What the hell was that?!"_

_Reborn's smirk grew to hide his unease. "If you were studying like you were supposed to be doing, that wouldn't have happened."_

_Tsuna grumbled but said nothing more on the matter, turning his attention back to his history book. He was still holding his bruised jaw, and while Reborn almost felt bad for him, he didn't do anything, not exactly sure how._

_And besides, if Reborn stepped up now, Tsuna would think there was something wrong with his teacher and then they would be back to getting Tsuna to continue his studies and avoid getting distracted._

_Reborn almost sighed then, as he watched Tsuna from the corner of his eye. His assassination instincts couldn't get in the way of his instruction anymore. Hopefully, being in the noisy Sawada household would relax him a bit._

_Deciding to create some space between him and his student, Reborn left Tsuna's room and made his way down to the kitchen._

_Nana smiled at the infant hitman when he entered, three kids running around her legs in a frenzy. Reborn nodded back to his student's mother before sniffing the air, finding that the enticing aroma of warm chicken soup did wonders to relax and calm him. Reborn hoped eating it would help him relax even more._

_The doorbell rang then, but neither Reborn nor Nana moved to get it. Instead, Nana pursed her lips, glancing between the soup and the door to the hall indecisively._

"_If you want, I would be happy to get it, Mama," Reborn suggested softly._

_Nana smiled. "No, no, it's fine, Reborn-kun. I'll get it."_

_She cut off the heat under the pot of soup and shed herself of her apron, putting the ladle down on the counter before leaving the room. Reborn followed her, curious as to who it was ringing the doorbell. As far as Reborn knew, Tsuna's friends were all busy today, so they wouldn't be coming over unless it was an emergency. And Reborn didn't have any surprises planned._

_Nana opened up the door to an Italian man dressed in a finely tailored suit. He had sharp features and his jet black hair was slicked back. At first glance, he looked imposing, but his ruffled appearance gave Reborn pause. It almost seemed like the man hadn't had any sleep in the past few days, what with the slight shadows under his eyes and the wrinkles in his expensive suit._

_Even Nana must have felt wary of this man. Her smile faltered as she took in the man's figure, putting things together faster than Reborn would have credited her. She must have had experience from before Iemitsu was careful with his travels._

"_Can I help you?" Nana asked, her voice neutral._

_The man nodded tersely. "Is this Sawada Tsunayoshi's house, by any chance?"_

"_Who's asking?" Nana's tone turned icy immediately, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face._

"_My name is Argine Gavino, a business associate of Tsunayoshi's father, as well as Timoteo. Our companies are allies."_

"_Why are you here?"_

"_I just wanted to see the man Timoteo wanted to choose as his associate. Speak with him about the future of the companies."_

_This man was smart. He was telling half-truths, convincing Nana that he was safe by giving her facts that no one knew besides those in the know had knowledge of. He was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. And it was working._

"_Mom?"_

_Reborn, Nana, and the man turned to find Tsuna at the top of the stairs, gazing down at the three curiously. The boy slowly stepped down, making his way to the bottom floor slowly, warily, probably recognizing that this wasn't a regular house call._

"_What's going?" Tsuna asked, eyeing the man. "And where's dad?"_

_Nana's smile warmed up as she turned her gaze to her son. "He's in a conference call," Nana reassured him. "He's in my bedroom, on the phone, so he probably just ignored the door."_

_Tsuna didn't look too impressed by his father's actions, especially with a potential Mafioso at the door, but knew better than to press the issue. Even if this man was just a business associate of the Vongola, the less he knew about the Sawada household the better._

"_Are you Tsunayoshi?" the man asked, coughing into his fist lightly._

_Tsuna nodded hesitantly. In that instant, Tsuna's wide, pleading eyes found Reborn, and the hitman held back a sigh. This was a delicate situation that Tsuna needed to learn how to handle, but Reborn _was_ the boy's teacher. If Tsuna asked for help, Reborn would teach the boy to the best of his abilities, even if it meant showing him how to manage things like this._

"_Mama," Reborn called out, startling the man into looking down at him. "Could you please give us some time with Iemitsu's associate? Why don't you go tell Iemitsu about what's going on?"_

_Nana was frozen in place for about half a second before she started towards her bedroom. "Yes, I'll do that," Nana said, sounding relieved and concerned at the same time. "Thank you, Reborn-kun. You three talk in the living room and I'll send in Iemitsu in a moment. After that, I'll fix dinner."_

_Nana left them alone and for a moment, nobody moved. Then, Tsuna unfroze, frowning at the man and leading him into the living room._

"_So you work with my dad?" Tsuna asked, caution about his every step. They settled at the low table. Tsuna on one side with Reborn seated at his right and the man across from the young Decimo._

_The man nodded. "Of a sorts. I'm an ally of the Vongola."_

_Tsuna's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You are? From what Family?"_

"_I'm the boss of the Argine Family," the man said. "My Family is young, though, so we don't have much of a reputation, unlike the Vongola."_

_Reborn's eyes narrowed as he stared down the visitor. He had never even heard of the Argine Family before, let alone it being an ally of the Vongola. There was something going on here, and Reborn didn't like it one bit. But he couldn't pounce on it just yet, no matter how much he wanted to. This man could be dangerous, for not just him and Tsuna, but for the entire Vongola Family, as well. One glance at Tsuna told Reborn that the boy was thinking along the same lines as he was._

"_Oh. So what are you here for?" Tsuna asked._

_The Argine boss looked hesitant. "You are the Vongola's new heir, is that correct?"_

_Tsuna nodded slowly, a cautious look in his eye. "Yeah, why?"_

"_Then I was hoping that since we will be working together in the future, we could settle a sort of problem that the Vongola caused. The earthquake."_

_A moment of hush fell over the room, as the two bosses stared each other down. Finally, Reborn took it upon himself to intervene, unable to keep himself from stepping back and letting Tsuna handle this._

"_And how do you suppose the Vongola was responsible for an earthquake that affected the whole world?" the hitman asked._

"_I have friends in the Vongola who know about the Decimo's impromptu trip to the distant future," the man said stiffly. "And the means of his return."_

_Reborn's tone was icy. "That's supposed to be classified to anyone not in the Tenth's immediate family or guardians, besides myself, Iemitsu, Basil, and the Ninth himself. How do you know anything about it?"_

"_As I said earlier, I'm an ally of the Vongola Family." The man's eyes flashed dangerously as he turned back to Tsuna's shocked form. Reborn wanted to growl. "Well, Decimo? Do you not deny it?"_

"_I-" Tsuna's eyes found Reborn's in an instant. His brown orbs were wide and panicky, and his mouth was opening and closing shut as he struggled for words. "I don't-"_

"_What's going on here?"_

_All eyes turned to the entryway to the living room, where an imposing figure stood looking down at the room's occupants. The figure was blond, with facial hair, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit, which left no question about who it was._

_Iemitsu._

_Iemitsu's nostrils flared as he took one look at the situation. His son across from a strange man with a cold glare pushing his problems onto the boy. Tsuna at a loss for words._

"_Well?" the blond man asked. "Tsunayoshi?"_

"_Dad-"_

"_He's the heir to the Vongola," the man stated blandly. "He needs to help clean up the mess he made."_

"_He's a child," Iemitsu countered. "He's still in training and you can't expect him to fix everyone's problems."_

"_I don't expect him to fix everyone's problems," the man growled. He stood up so that he was at a better height advantage. "I expect him to fix his own. Decimo and his friends were the ones who caused the earthquake and in the process, Arbela died. I expect nothing less than an apology."_

"_Get out of my house." Iemitsu's tone was venomous, leaving no room for argument._

"_I'll be back," the man scowled. "It's your fault, Sawada Tsunayoshi, so I expect you to compensate me for your actions."_

_With that, the man stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Tsuna, Reborn, and Iemitsu sat in a sort of shocked silence or a moment more before Iemitsu huffed and sat down in the sea the man vacated._

"_Bastard thinks he can come in _my _house and demand things…." _

_Iemitsu kept rambling, but Reborn was hardly paying attention to the Sawada patriarch. His attention focused on his student, staring down at the table with a thoughtful expression on his face. The boy looked like his mind was racing a million miles a minute._

"_Tsuna?"_

_The boy looked up at him, face distraught but eyes confident. "I want to help that man."_

"_Tsunayoshi!" Iemitsu protested._

_Reborn just smiled. "Well, Decimo, what do you have in mind?"_

* * *

Reborn lifted his head off of his desk. He blinked absently at the papers laying around him, on the desk and floor, confused as to where he was. It took the hitman a moment to realize what was going on.

He had fallen asleep.

And what he had been dreaming about was the day he and Tsuna had first met the boss of the Argine Family. The day that started this full scale war, even if none of them had known it at the time.

Still, the thing that had gotten to him about that memory was his relationship with Tsuna. It had been so relaxed, free of tension. They could talk to each other with ease. They had known each other inside and out.

Now, though, things were different. The Inheritance Ceremony disaster had affected both of them, Tsuna more than anybody. The boy had fallen into some sort of emotionless depression. He hardly talked unless he had to. He never really initiated conversation, but he would keep it going. He took over the Family, but at some point, it felt like Reborn and the Guardians had lost Tsuna in the process.

After the war started, it had only gotten worse. He was a strong leader, compassionate and able to rally the Family behind him. The only thing was, he barely let himself feel. Sure, he had gotten better at talking, opening up a bit to his closer friends and family, and it almost seemed like he was functioning like a normal human being, but there were times where Tsuna even terrified Reborn. He would just cut off his emotions and stare blankly at whoever was talking. It was like speaking to a robot, only controlled, emotionless responses coming out.

That was the price that was paid after the Inheritance Ceremony, and Reborn blamed himself.

He missed the way Tsuna had used to act. Shy, compassionate, maybe a little overdramatic, but he was Tsuna. And while Tsuna was still Tsuna now, Reborn was just hoping he could help coax the boy back into the direction of opening up to his family. To becoming someone who he used to almost be drawn to.

Reborn sighed, stacking the papers scattered around him into a neat pile.

He didn't get it. He was supposed to, but he didn't. Ever since then, it felt like the world had turned itself upside down.

He was a tutor. He was Tsuna's teacher, no matter what time the boy was from, and Reborn had thought he had accepted that.

Why was he pushing this boy from the past away when he was all that Reborn hoped Tsuna would be?

But maybe that was it. This Tsuna may be everything Reborn remembered, but Reborn's problem wasn't actually fixed. No, his problem had been sent to the past and left a younger, kinder, more open version in his place.

And that's what Reborn hated. He couldn't fix this if his student wasn't here. He couldn't help, he couldn't be his student's teacher if he wasn't there to teach. So now he needed to figure out how to fix _this_ problem. He needed to figure out how to win this war and get his students back to their correct times.

Because Reborn didn't tolerate failure. Especially not his own.

So Reborn leaned back in his chair and stared at the desk. He had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Tsuna's return to consciousness wasn't jolting, but it wasn't a slow waking, either. It was something in between, where one minute, he was dreaming an odd, strange sort of dream, and the next he was opening his eyes to stare half-lidded at the ceiling.

At least, he expected it to be the ceiling.

What he had not expected was to see a pineapple-haired illusionist smirking down at him as he blinked into awareness. Tsuna, not comprehending exactly what was happening yet, lied there for a couple of seconds, just staring with his jaw slack.

Then it hit him.

"Mukuro?!" Tsuna sat up quickly, forcing the illusionist to push himself back lest he be hit. "What the hell?! Why were you watching me sleep?!"

"Kufufu. Sawada Tsunayoshi, dreams can be fickle things," Rokudo Mukuro said, smirk never leaving his face. "Sometimes, we discover more about ourselves than we care to know."

Tsuna struggled for words. That was an odd reply. Even for Mukuro.

"That…I don't…what?" Tsuna asked, rubbing his arms nervously.

While he had gotten somewhat used to Mukuro's presence over the months he'd known him, Tsuna was still less than comfortable talking to the man one on one, with no one else in the room. The illusionist was a little creepy sometimes and was always talking about wanting to take over Tsuna's body. Plus, whenever Mukuro was around, he'd get some odd tingling sensation in his head and he'd start to get light-headed.

"You were dreaming about a man," Mukuro explained.

"I…was dreaming about a man," Tsuna echoed in disbelief. In truth, he didn't remember much of his dream beside the odd, almost déjà vu feeling that lingered behind. Like he had dreamed the dream before but couldn't remember it. "How would you even know that?"

Mukuro's smirk grew wider. "I have my ways."

Tsuna rubbed his temples, feeling exasperated. And he hadn't even gotten up for the day yet.

"Where's Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked instead of addressing the dream issue. That could wait until later. "And where am I?"

"In the swordsman's bedroom," Mukuro replied.

"Why?"

Mukuro shrugged. "I'm sure there's a reason."

"And if I'm in Yamamoto's bedroom, then where's Yamamoto?"

Mukuro said nothing, getting to his feet before reaching out and dragging Tsuna up, as well. Tsuna, incensed and already wide awake, did nothing to stop the illusionist. Mukuro was someone Tsuna feared he'd never be able to ever understand.

The door creaked open then, and Tsuna couldn't help the wave of relief at the person who walked into the bedroom. Yamamoto's eyes were bright and his smile was cheery. Propped on his shoulder he carried a practice sword, looking ready for the day, unlike Tsuna.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, noting the tension in the boy's shoulders. "You okay? Sleep alright?"

The brunet shrugged. "I'm fine. I was just talking to…."

Tsuna trailed off as he looked back to Mukuro. Or rather, to where Mukuro had been standing not moments before. Now, though, the illusionist was nowhere to be found, leaving Tsuna wondering if he had just been imagining the whole conversation with the Mist Guardian or not.

"Talking to who?" Yamamoto settled himself to lean against the wall near Tsuna, a curious look on his bright face.

"I swear Mukuro was just here," Tsuna murmured softly. "I was just talking to him, I think."

Yamamoto just laughed. "He does that sometimes," the baseball player waved Tsuna's doubts off. "As much as he hates to admit it, he's got more in common with Hibari than you'd think. He's not all that gung-ho about hanging around anyone in the Vongola but you."

"Me?" Tsuna asked incredulously. "Why me?"

"You'll find out."

Yamamoto smiled knowingly and Tsuna couldn't help but flash a small smile back at him. It was just something else to look forward to, he told himself, finding that it was getting easier to accept that than it had been the day before.

Clapping his hands, Yamamoto stood up again, this time dragging Tsuna up with him. "Alright," the baseball player said cheerfully. "Time for some breakfast and then I'm supposed to take you to training with Hibari. And after that, I have a little surprise for you."

Tsuna blinked. "A surprise?"

Yamamoto nodded. "Yep! But first, breakfast and training!"

"Alright. Let's get this beat down over with," Tsuna said, steeling himself for the day. After yesterday, he felt better, stronger. The darkness that had been dragging him down before seemed miniscule now that he knew his friends were behind him and trying their best to support him.

He didn't feel as alone, and he definitely liked it that way.

* * *

Breakfast went by quickly. It had just been Tsuna, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Lambo, but the small gathering was more than enough to lift his spirits even higher. He was feeling more confident and prepared than he had yesterday.

After the meal, Yamamoto had led Tsuna to the training room on the seventeenth floor where he would be starting his training with Hibari and Reborn.

Only, Reborn hadn't shown up.

So, that left him with just Hibari while Yamamoto half-supervised, half-trained on the other side of the giant training room. Tsuna and the skylark had sparred for a couple of hours while Hibari had called out bits of advice _after_ Tsuna had ended up face planting into a wall. And once Tsuna held up his hands in defeat, sore and tired and on the verge of collapsing, Hibari had narrowed his eyes, grabbed the extended wrist, and twisted it. Hard.

Yamamoto ended up intervening and they had called off training for the rest of the day. Hibari, after hearing the fight was over, left the room without another word.

Tsuna could hardly get himself to care as he collapsed onto the floor, Yamamoto looking sheepishly down at him.

"Sorry, Tsuna," Yamamoto said. "I wasn't paying attention to you guys."

Tsuna just waved the baseball player's apology off, too exhausted to really argue over something that stupid. It wasn't Yamamoto's job to oversee Tsuna's training, so it wasn't his fault. Reborn should have been the one here, but he was god knows where.

"Don't worry about it. It's over now," Tsuna managed to murmur.

"So," Yamamoto said, scratching the back of his head and placing his practice sword down, "how about that surprise?"

"How about I sleep for an hour?" Tsuna suggested groggily. "I feel like I just got run over by a bus."

Yamamoto just laughed. "Come on, Tsuna! I promise it will be super fun! You'll be able to take your mind off things."

"Yeah?" Tsuna asked, feeling a little curious as to what Yamamoto was hiding and what this surprise could possibly be. "What is it?"

The baseball payer just laughed, dragging Tsuna up by the arm and onto his own two feet. Once Tsuna was steady enough, he lead the brunet out of the training room and into the elevator, cheerful smile never once leaving his face as he pushed the button for floor _B2_.

Tsuna glanced at the button nervously. "Isn't that the floor Shoichi's lab is on?"

Yamamoto shook his head. "Nah, that's the _B4_. _B2_ is the rec room, where a lot of trainees spend their time."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to show my face to the trainees," Tsuna said, puzzled. "That's what Reborn said."

"And if Reborn really cared, he would have stopped me from planning this before now." Yamamoto shrugged, pulling Tsuna out into a brightly lit hallway when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "I've given him plenty of chances since yesterday."

Tsuna sighed, nervously shuffling his feet as Yamamoto dragged him along. Tsuna saw many doorways—most of which were open—and plenty of people. Some of them waved, a few smiled—to which Tsuna gave them a tentative smile back—but most nodded and went back to doing whatever they had been before Tsuna and Yamamoto came along.

Eventually, Yamamoto dropped his arm, and when they passed a bright, colorful room full of pool tables and laughing trainees, Tsuna couldn't help but peek inside. There were men and women of all ages and Tsuna found himself gaping at all of the people standing around a pool table laughing hysterically.

"Tsuna?"

The brunet looked back to Yamamoto sheepishly, taking in the baseball player's raised eyebrow and curious look. Yamamoto walked back to him and peered into the room Tsuna had been looking in.

"What's going on? See someone?"

Tsuna was about to open his mouth to respond when he heard a voice calling his name. Looking back into the room, Tsuna saw someone that had him feeling both relieved and nervous all at once. What was Basil doing down here in the rec room?

Tsuna almost slapped himself on the forehead. That was one of the dumbest questions he had ever asked. Basil may have been part of the External Advisor's team, but that didn't mean anything when they were in Italy fighting a war. And while living in the base, Basil was allowed to do whatever it was he wanted. It wasn't any of Tsuna's business.

"Decimo!"

Tsuna flinched away when twenty other sets of eyes landed heavily on him, the laughter dying away instantly. A heavy silence settled over the trainees, only broken by Basil himself, running forward and only stopping when he was directly in front of Tsuna.

"Decimo!" Basil cried, looking mildly surprised, but not unpleasantly. "Che ci fai qui? Non dovresti essere con gli altri guardiani pianificazione per il prossimo attacco? Questo è quello che il mio padrone mi ha detto."

Tsuna stared at Basil wordlessly, looking the other boy—who had somehow grown more than half a head taller than him—up and down in a struggle to make sense of the Italian that had just been spewed at him in a rush. Unable to make heads or tails of the language, Tsuna looked to Yamamoto for help. In the back of his head, he wondered how he had managed to learn such a language as Italian. Even with his lessons with his Reborn and Gokudera, he had hardly gotten anywhere with it.

Yamamoto just shrugged and whispered, "Out of everyone, Ryohei and I are the worst at speaking Italian. All I got out of it was something about planning and guardians."

Tsuna sighed and turned back Basil, who was looking at the two oddly. Behind him, the trainees' gazes were sharp and picking up everything from movement to words exchanged.

"Decimo?" Basil prodded.

"Um, Basil," Tsuna said, stopping a moment to clear his throat, very aware of all of eyes on him at that moment. He gave the other boy a small, uneasy smile. "Do you…Do you mind if we switch to Japanese?"

Basil looked puzzled but didn't argue. "Of course, Decimo."

"So, do you want to repeat what you said, Basil?" Yamamoto laughed sheepishly, "You know, for those who aren't too fluent in Italian?"

Basil nodded sagely. "Of course, Yamamoto-dono! I was wondering what you were doing down here. I mean, shouldn't you be with the other guardians planning for the next attack? That's what my master told me you were doing this week."

"Right," Tsuna said, sighing. "I forgot that you call my dad that."

"Tsuna's taking a break," Yamamoto answered, humming slightly in thought. "Ryohei and I set up a surprise for him. Do you want to join in?"

Basil nodded eagerly. "I'd love to join you, Yamamoto-dono!"

And so that's how Tsuna ended up walking between Yamamoto and Basil, having absolutely no clue where he was heading. Basil hummed happily to himself, not looking the least bit suspicious of Tsuna's behavior, which Tsuna was all too grateful for. He didn't want to focus on his predicament right now. Yamamoto said this would be fun.

Finally, the trio turned into a dead end, stopping at a door.

"Is this it?" Tsuna asked, eyeing the entrance.

Nodding, Yamamoto led them through the door, an excited bounce in his step. Tsuna and Basil hurried to follow the baseball player in, gasping in awe at what surrounded them.

Tsuna knew that he wasn't outside, he _knew_ that, but it definitely _felt_ like he was. Because the springy green under his feet definitely felt like grass, and the expansive blue over his head definitely looked like the sky, with clouds drifting lazily overhead. Tsuna looked around in awe at the field that couldn't possibly be there. They were inside!

And yet, here it was. An impossibility made possible with the Vongola's power and influence.

A warm breeze ruffled Tsuna's hair, and the brunet instantly relaxed and closed his eyes, feeling all of his earlier tension and exhaustion fade away. A grin broke out of his face and before he knew it, Tsuna found himself laughing.

Opening his eyes, Tsuna looked over at Yamamoto's highly amused face. "What is this place? How is this possible?"

Yamamoto just shrugged. "You and Hayato set it up a while back, when we were first building the base. No one else knows about this place but you and your guardians. Not even your dad."

Tsuna's jovial smile grew at those words. "So it's like a safe haven," Tsuna breathed out, looking all around again. The only way he knew he wasn't outside was the walls that imprisoned the field within the barriers.

"Is this the surprise?" Basil asked, also gazing at the room's contents in wonder. "I've never been here before."

Yamamoto nodded. "Tsuna and Hayato kept it a secret from everybody for a few months. The first time I was here was two weeks ago."

"I'm surprised that the Decimo managed to keep it a secret for so long without anybody finding out," Basil said.

Tsuna smiled back at Yamamoto, feeling close to tears. "Thank you so much, Yamamoto!" the brunet exclaimed, jumping forward to wrap his arms around the baseball player's torso. Tsuna let out another peal of laughter, a loose feeling in his chest. "Thank you so, _so_ much! This is amazing!"

Yamamoto ruffled his spiky hair affectionately. "No problem, Tsuna. I was thinking the three of us could hang out here for a couple more hours. You know, avoid any duties that we have in favor of having fun? And Ryohei said he could come later, too."

"Let's do it!" Tsuna nodded eagerly.

And that's how Tsuna spent the rest of his day. Together with his friends, laughing and having fun. And the funny thing was, he didn't even remotely feel like an outsider once the whole time. He felt needed, wanted, _accepted_.

* * *

**To tofldh -** Reborn's situation is sort of explained, I guess. I have most of it written, but it's not going to be addressed completely for a couple more chapters. And yes! Vongola Gear! I actually hinted to it back in chapter two but I don't think a lot of people noticed. This is actually the chapter I started to write before I started chapter one. And yes, that does mean Simon will show up. (: We're getting there!

**To UserKR8027 -** Thank you so much! That really made my day! I'm glad you think it's good and I update weekly for the most part. And yes, despite picking up, this fic will have fluff. This chapter was the least dramatic chapter I've ever done, but I'm trying my best. Tsuna's feelings have settled but he's still in the middle of a war. He's going to see things he hasn't ever seen before. And thank you for concerning yourself with my dad. He's fine and recovering. Thanks for your review!

**To general zargon** – See! Better! Tsuna's happy! For how much longer, well, that's a different story. I'm glad you liked Dino. He's pretty darn fun to write. And hopefully a look into Reborn's thoughts changed your smacking urge. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Hopefully you liked this one as well! Thanks for your review!

**To lovleydragonfly** – I'm glad you thought it was sweet. I made this chapter happy, too! Thanks for your review!

**To Hells Tenshi** – I'm glad you're on board now. Yes, Gokudera's and Reborn's reactions are very…unusual, but they have their own chapters coming up where those issues are addressed (and maybe resolved). Hoped you liked the interaction between Yamamoto and Tsuna in this story as well! Thanks for the review!

**To riana rox** – I'm glad you think it's well written. I feel like I struggle with the fact that I don't feel my writing is adequate enough on a daily basis. You don't know how happy that makes me for you to say that. What's coming next, though, may shake you a bit. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you so much for your amazing review!

**To Guest –** Yep! Any time! I'm glad you liked it and thank you for your review!

**To Tatanka** – Thank you for your long review! You are absolutely right, and I'd just like to stress that the attitude most of those from 2!YL, especially Reborn and Gokudera, isn't correct. But things happen and sometimes it's hard to change your line of thinking, even if you are in the wrong. And that's exactly what is happening in this story. But, my main reason for writing this story is to explore everyone's feelings if a situation like this happened. In the series, they sort of showed stuff like this in the beginning of the future arc, but then I feel like the situation was accepted too easily. And that's why I wrote this.

I'm glad you liked my story and I hoped you liked this chapter. I appreciated your review! (And don't worry, I didn't even notice that English wasn't your first language!)

Thanks again for your guys' reviews! And yes, Chapter 12 will be posted later tonight! So keep an eye out!


	12. Chapter 12

I'd like to say something before you all hate me with all of your being. You guys are amazing and I'll have the next chapter up this weekend! So yeah. Read on, I guess. Oh, and did someone say _plot?_

* * *

Before coming to this future, Tsuna was sure that training under Hibari and Lal at the same time was the hardest training he had ever endured. But it didn't even come close to the strain Hibari and Reborn's training put him under.

For one thing, Tsuna had never had to train without using his Dying Will. All of his previous instruction had been for his Dying Will mode, and he had never had to be without it. So being forced to face Hibari without even his gloves to help defend himself was probably the hardest thing he had done in his life.

"Faster," Hibari commanded, his steel gray eyes narrowing as he swung a fist towards Tsuna's cheek.

Tsuna squeaked and ducked, avoiding Hibari's fist not a moment too soon. Unfortunately, in the time Tsuna spent recovering from almost having his face smashed in, Hibari attacked again, kicking him in the gut and sending him flying across the room.

He landed, rolling a few times to avoid any other injuries. After he rolled to a stop, Tsuna took the time to practically cough his lungs out. Hibari's hits were nothing to scoff at. They were hard to evade, terrible to take, and impossible to block. In short, after almost two hours of training, Tsuna was practically one big bruise.

Hibari slowly stalked over to Tsuna, looking very much like a predator that had just cornered its prey. Tsuna stood back up on shaky legs, refusing to roll over after coming so far. He was too determined to finish this out now that he something to fight for. Yesterday, all he'd wanted to do was to make it stop while Hibari used him for his own personal punching bag. Now, though, he had a reason to do this. He felt changed, especially after yesterday's surprise.

"If you keep evading like that, you'll keep getting hit," Reborn said from his outpost by the door. His words sounded instructive, but they really just left Tsuna frustrated.

While it was nice that his tutor had actually shown up for his training, unlike yesterday, Tsuna was finding that he was getting next to no help from the man who had wanted him to train like this in the first place.

"If you don't want me to evade like that, then show me how to do it right," Tsuna scowled. "It's been hours and you just keep saying the same thing over and over again. Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

Reborn's eyes narrowed dangerously, but his tone was casual. "It's better if you find these kinds of things out for yourself."

Tsuna almost growled. Well that was next to no help. Wasn't it Reborn who had wanted to get this finished before the month was up? At this rate, Tsuna wasn't going to progress any further by the end of the year, let alone the end of the month.

But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering him the most about Reborn, believe it or not. Tsuna wanted to give Reborn a piece of his mind about not teaching him properly, as well as his avoidance of the subject of the past.

It was eating at him. Half the time, all Tsuna could think about was slapping his tutor silly. Except, well, he wouldn't actually _do_ that. He was too scared of the consequences, but sometimes it was nice to imagine that he was brave enough to face off against Reborn like that.

"Herbivore," Hibari said evenly, swinging his hand down into a swift chop. Tsuna scrambled backwards, narrowly avoiding a nasty headache. "Don't take your eyes off of your opponent."

Damn. Tsuna had forgotten about Hibari, too caught up in all of the Reborn drama that seemed to occupy his mind more than fifty percent of the time. Getting distracted could turn out to be a fatal mistake when it came to the skylark, so it was best if he stayed on his guard.

Which was easier said than done. With Reborn occupying the forefront of his mind and his situation—which he still hadn't really come to terms with—occupying the back, Hibari's attacks occupied the _right here and now_ part of his mind and Tsuna was struggling not to get knocked down.

After another flurry of attacks that left Tsuna significantly more winded than before, Tsuna held up his hand in defeat. Hibari's punch stopped just short of knocking away the offending hand, which Tsuna was really grateful for, because the last time he had done that, his hand had almost been twisted right off.

"What is it?" Hibari asked, eyes narrowed and tone leaving no room for petty excuses.

"I…I need…a minute," Tsuna gasped.

Hyper Dying Will Mode exhausted Tsuna, to the point where, if he was fighting a long, drawn out battle, like the one with Xanxus or Byakuran, he was left practically unable to move. But it really wasn't until after he had come out of Hyper mode that he actually realized how tired he really was. Gokudera had once likened it to a high.

But Tsuna wasn't in Hyper Dying Will Mode, now. He didn't have his Will brushing off any trace of exhaustion and allowing him to push on and keep fighting. He was just plain old Tsuna and only now did he realize how much he depended on his Hyper mode.

And after two hours of doing nothing but sparring without his Dying Will, every bit of exhaustion he carried with him was felt, no matter how much he tried to push it off and keep going. It just didn't work that way.

"Herbivore," Hibari growled, "this isn't something to take lightly."

Tsuna did his best to glare at the skylark. He _wasn't_ taking this lightly, but that didn't mean he could go for hours on end like this. He was recovered physically, yes, but he still got tired, not to mention mentally and emotionally flattened.

But if he tried to convey that to Hibari, Tsuna was sure that the prefect would just glare at him and start attacking him again.

He settled for, "I'm…trying my best. I managed more than yesterday."

That was true, but Reborn also hadn't been there to referee and make sure that Hibari didn't get overexcited yesterday. In all honesty, that was probably the only reason Tsuna was still alive right now.

And it didn't surprise Tsuna that Hibari was even more ruthless than he was in the past, but it did surprise him that Hibari was going all out, seeming for all the world like he was trying to kill the brunet. Wouldn't it be better to leave Tsuna alive so that he could be a part of their stupid plan?

And there it was again. It kept popping up in different ways, but eventually it would end up distracting him. Reborn and his plan that Tsuna hardly understood and the war that was threatening his family and his training and-

Tsuna stopped himself. This was getting a bit too overwhelming. Oh how he wished he could escape back to the indoor field and cast away his worries once again. He looked over to Reborn pleadingly.

"Please? I promise it will only be a few minutes. We've been at this for hours and I feel like I'm going to fall over at any minute."

Reborn looked him over for one silent, terrifying moment, before checking his watch and sighing in defeat.

"Hibari, it's almost noon and you have other recruits to train."

Hibari grunted but relented without a fight, which left Tsuna almost puzzled. Hibari, the guy who hated his sense of superiority and order being disrupted, was willingly taking orders from Reborn without a second thought. It was another change Tsuna supposed he would have to get used to.

Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief when Hibari backed off, his shaking legs giving out almost immediately after Hibari stepped away. Groaning, Tsuna just let himself slowly collapse onto the cool—metal? Tiled?—ground.

Hibari instantly stalked out of the room, and Tsuna found that he wasn't overly surprised by his Guardian's actions. The man hated crowding, but loved fighting. Why stick around people when he wasn't going to be fighting anyone?

But that just left him and Reborn.

The silence was awkward, but Tsuna didn't want to be the one to break it. As much as he hated to admit it, this Reborn kind of terrified him. He was used to a much smaller, less imposing tutor. This one was scary _and _he hated Tsuna. That meant that Tsuna was going to try to stay as far away from Reborn as possible. Well, when he could.

Right now didn't count since he _had_ to train with him.

"We'll start back up in four hours," Reborn finally said. Tsuna couldn't see the hitman from where he was currently lying on the floor staring at the tiled ceiling, but he imagined that Reborn was looking down at him in disapproval, just like his father had yesterday in that meeting. "That should give us a few hours to train before dinner. Make sure you eat and don't be late."

Tsuna heard the door slide open and then shut again, and he suddenly found himself alone.

He sighed and let himself relax into the floor. But while tension left his body, his mind was still working overtime to take everything in and organize it into something he could understand.

It was odd, this time. These people. This war. Things weren't coming easy for him.

The door slid open again but Tsuna didn't react. Instead, he just kept staring at the ceiling. It was probably just Yamamoto or Dino come to nag at him to come and eat. Tsuna just sighed. He wasn't that hungry and wasn't eager to be pried from his spot on the floor. It was too comfortable to leave.

But when things were silent for a moment too long, when Tsuna hadn't heard a peep since the door had opened, he felt a shiver travel up his spine. Something was off.

Reluctant to get up, but even more reluctant to get shot—Reborn had made him more paranoid than he cared to admit—Tsuna sat up slowly.

Tsuna blinked. And then he blinked again, because this was probably a nightmare. Just his imagination. Because there certainly couldn't be a very large figure dressed up in a black cloak holding what looked to be twin daggers. They were in the Vongola base. That stuff couldn't happen without alarms going off.

And then the warning bells in his head went off and Tsuna _moved_, just barely managing to dodge the dagger that had been thrown at his face. As fast as he could, he jumped to his feet, pulling his gloves and pills out from his pockets, but careful not to use them just yet, aware of how exhausted they could make him. One swallow and he could end up passed out, laying himself up on a silver platter to the enemy.

Enemy?

There was no one in front of him.

They were gone.

Tsuna moved into a defensive position, very aware of how vulnerable he was at the moment. This was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. How the hell was this happening? Shouldn't the alarms be going off or something? Shouldn't someone be alerted to the fact that _Tsuna was being attacked by a cloaked assassin_?

His Intuition went off and Tsuna was rolling away a millisecond before he was nearly impaled through the heart by a wicked looking dagger. Tsuna didn't make the mistake of letting his enemy out of his sights a second time.

What had Hibari said?

_Don't take your eyes off of your opponent._

Now Tsuna understood why. This was why. His opponent could sneak up on him and if Tsuna hadn't had his Hyper Intuition, he would be shish kabob right about now. And none of Tsuna's other opponents—besides Genkishi and Mukuro, but they had been illusionists, so it wouldn't have mattered—had fought this way before, letting Tsuna lose sight of them for a moment and then losing them all together. And honestly, Tsuna wasn't sure how to deal with it.

This guy was like a real assassin.

_From the left_.

Tsuna ducked under the slice of the blade, rolling away before the assassin could make a further move. He pulled himself up into a crouch a few yards from the assassin.

_If you keep evading like that, you'll keep getting hit._

Tsuna could see what Reborn was talking about now. He had evaded Hibari's hit before, but he kept himself vulnerable by staying within his opponent's attacking range. He had to move before they could take advantage of his maneuver.

Tsuna's grip on his mittens and pills tightened as he watched his enemy straighten. This wasn't some spar. He was _really_ getting attacked by this guy. Whoever this was, they were really trying to assassinate him.

His enemy looked over at him and Tsuna grimaced. He couldn't see their face, their hood covering too much and leaving the rest in shadows, but Tsuna could tell by the assassin's posture that they were ready for an all-out attack, which Tsuna wasn't sure he could afford. Not with the way he was fighting right now.

But maybe…yeah. Yeah, that could work.

Tsuna stayed in his crouch as he pulled off his Vongola Ring and hung it on the chain around his neck, eyes never leaving his far too still enemy. The assassin seemed satisfied to just watch him when Tsuna started to pull his mittens on, head tilted to the side as if they were just curious. Tsuna swallowed two pills and let his Hyper Dying Will overtake him.

Everything sharpened and Tsuna felt himself calming down, taking stock of his situation. This was working. At least, it was working enough that Tsuna didn't feel like the original Ring's power was going to overwhelm him. It was still there, pumping him with power, even if it was around his neck, but it was muted enough that Tsuna managed not to let it distract him.

The enemy's posture was relaxed, and somehow, Tsuna almost felt threatened by the amount of calm the enemy was exuding.

"What do you want from me?" Tsuna asked after a few seconds of the standstill.

The assassin didn't speak, and Tsuna hadn't really been expecting them to, but they did take a step forward, their cloaked head still tilted to the side.

"Don't get any closer!" Tsuna yelled, straightening to his full height and backing up a step to regain that distance the assassin had shortened. He didn't want this person anywhere near him if they was going to wield those sharp daggers they held loosely in their gloved hands. "Just tell me why you're here!"

The assassin took a small step forward and Tsuna took another step back, only to hit the wall. Tsuna took a step forward again, reluctant to be backed into the wall if the enemy attacked. It would only serve as an obstacle if he had to move. The enemy straightened their head and seemed to contemplate their target's position for a moment.

And suddenly, in the time it took for Tsuna to blink, his enemy had disappeared. Tsuna, orange eyes wide, looked around the training room and found nothing. Justifiably panicked, Tsuna pressed himself back against the wall. Except, since when did walls wear cloaks?

The next thing Tsuna knew, he was being held against a very broad, cloaked chest, one arm wrapped around his torso and a hand holding a dagger precariously close to his neck, effectively trapping him.

"What do you want?" Tsuna growled when the assassin made no move to finish him off. "Why are you here?"

"Japanese?" The assassin asked his voice deep and gravelly, like he had barely used it before now.

Tsuna's breathing hitched as the dagger dug into his throat—not deep enough to break the skin, but enough to get the message across. If he spoke, his neck would be sliced open.

Tsuna wasn't sure what was going on, but he could only hope that he could find a way to get out of this. Why did it seem like he was so weak in this world? Couldn't he ever do anything right here? He was captured by this assassin and he had no way of escaping. He'd barely put up a fight before he was captured, too. How pathetic could he get?

"You wanted to know what I was doing here," the voice said, sending a shiver down Tsuna's spine, "but shouldn't you already know? If you don't, then I suppose I should be thanking Mr. Argine for his help. It's easier to take out a younger version than it is to kill the present, as he said, and I have to say that I agree. I'm glad he pulled through."

Tsuna choked.

What in the _hell_ was this guy going on about? Wasn't Argine the Family the Vongola was at war with? Did this mean that the Argine guy was responsible for Tsuna coming to the future? But…how? How could that be possible? Only Shoichi and the Bovino were supposed to have the means to time travel.

"Who are you?" Tsuna whispered hoarsely. "What do you want from-?"

Tsuna cut himself off with a smothered cry when the man dropped the dagger and used his free hand to strangle Tsuna from behind with a single, beefy hand. Tsuna, unable to breathe, scrabbled at the hand, unable to pry it off and free his airways, even in Hyper Dying Will Mode. The man didn't even seem affected by his flame.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the assassin said, as if testing his name. "Sawada Tsunayoshi. Decimo. The Tenth boss of the Vongola Family. Also sometimes called the Neo Primo, if I do recall. Do you know the crimes you've committed?"

"Wh…Wh-at?" Tsuna choked out as he was slowly strangled to death.

"No, no," the assassin said. "That's not right, now is it? It's more like, do you know the crimes you _will_ commit? You're from the past, right? Ah yes, I just said that, didn't I?"

Tsuna grunted, wondering where this was going and if it was going to get there quickly. This man was odd. He was constantly answering his own questions, and if that wasn't weird enough, he seemed like he knew Tsuna's future counterpart.

And besides that, this guy was cutting off his oxygen supply. He was going to lose conscious if this kept up.

"Well, let me tell you something, past Sawada Tsunayoshi. The Vongola will be brought to its knees by the Argine as long as you aren't around, or I guess, as long as the present Sawada Tsunayoshi isn't around."

"Wh-What do…you w-want?" Tsuna gasped.

The hand around his neck tightened slowly, until Tsuna was practically choking. He couldn't get any air and his next thought was _this is it_. This is where his short life of almost fifteen years ended. In a training room inside a base that was supposed to be secure.

And then it was over.

The man abruptly let him go, leaving Tsuna spluttering and coughing and gasping for breath, falling to the floor in a pathetic heap. As Tsuna struggled to inhale, he turned his head to catch a glimpse of the grinning cloaked enemy.

"Why?" Tsuna croaked.

"Because Argine will finish you off for me," the man said. "There's no point in getting my hands dirty before its time to take over the mafia world, is there? Of course there isn't."

"I-" Tsuna coughed harshly, his breaths raspy as they scraped past his sore throat. "I don't…understand."

The man barked a laugh. "You will. I may not have defeated you before, but that has only been because you have not faced me at full power. And even if you tried to stop me, you wouldn't be able to in your present state."

"H-How do we know…?" Tsuna couldn't relay the last part, but the assassin seemed to know what he was getting at.

"I was once a part of the Vongola Family, but Nono claiming you as his heir was the last straw," the man growled. "Is that surprising? No, not really, considering that man wasn't much of a leader. In the end, how could I trust him to pick someone who has more potential to lead than him? I couldn't."

"So you…left," Tsuna summed up weakly. He was finally getting some semblance of a voice back, even if it was hoarse and cracked. "But who are you…and why are you i-involved with the…Argine?"

The assassin hummed in contemplation. "I'm not going to tell you who I am. That has too much potential to turn into a problem, doesn't it? Of course it does. Now, about why I'm involved with the Argine, well, you could say we're business partners of sorts. He takes you out and gets his revenge and then I'll have the entire mafia world bowing at my feet. The Vongola will be done for."

"You won't get away with…with this," Tsuna gasped out. "The Vongola…have a plan. We will…defeat the Argine."

The assassin's face, still half-hidden in shadows, split into a grin. "I don't think so."

Tsuna growled. "Why are you…here?"

"An assessment, of sorts, I suppose you could say. And besides, it's best to leave the revenge to those who thirst for it, yes?"

Tsuna scowled. "What the…hell does that-?"

And that's when Tsuna's world went black.

* * *

Tsuna woke up to a pounding headache. He stirred, attempting to get comfortable on whatever he was sleeping on. It was hard and cold, Tsuna realized as he shifted. It did nothing to help his sore muscles.

The next thing Tsuna noticed was his inability to make a sound. His throat felt tight and his breath was raspy. He could barely breathe without it hurting.

Tsuna's brow furrowed as he opened his eyes. Why was he staring up at the ceiling of the training room? Had Hibari knocked him out again? No, no, Hibari had left, he remembered. He and Reborn had left Tsuna lying on the floor of the training room. Had he fallen asleep, then?

That would explain a lot. At least, everything but his raw throat.

And that's when everything came flashing back. The assassin. The Argine. The Vongola. The hand that slowly strangled the life out of him.

Tsuna sat up, inhaling sharply, only to double over coughing harshly. After that, he made sure to breathe softly and shallowly, careful not to aggravate his throat further. The assassin had held him rather tightly. He'd probably damaged Tsuna's throat rather severely, based on how difficult it was to breathe and swallow.

Tsuna stumbled to his feet, noting that the assassin was gone. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but it seemed to be long enough for the assassin guy to finish whatever assessment he had been here to make. The others were probably looking for him by now. Lunch was probably over, too.

He needed to find them. He needed to make sure they knew about this threat. He made it about halfway to the door before his knees buckled and his legs gave out. He wanted to move, but he couldn't. His fingers twitched weakly, but that was as far as it went.

The door was too far away. Everything was getting dark.

Maybe he would just take a short nap and then he would get Yamamoto and Dino. It could wait, couldn't it?

Tsuna was asleep before he could even think about refuting his own thoughts.

* * *

Definitely shorter than last chapter. Hehe...don't hate me. I feel so guilty for leaving you like this, but there was no way that I could combine this chapter and next chapter. Anyways, remember that the next chapter is posted this weekend! And if you feel the need to check my progress, my tumblr and my ff profile are updated practically every time I make a change or make some progress on my stories. Alright, see you guys next time.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry. Super sorry. I've been sick for the past week and every time I tried to sit down and write the remaining two scenes that were supposed to be in this chapter, I just couldn't. No motivation whatsoever. So I cut the scenes and put them in Chapter 14 so I could get this out. I'm really, really sorry about that. Again. Sorry.

This chapter deals with some heavy thinking, too, so be prepared.

Thanks for the reviews, favs, and follows! You guys are amazing and I so should have gotten this out sooner.

* * *

Gokudera was cold. Freezing, in fact, and there was no logical reason for it. He was sitting at his desk in his bedroom, which happened to be a perfect 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit). He shouldn't have been able to feel the shivers currently traveling down his spine in such a comfortable environment. It didn't make any sense.

Shoving his chair away from his desk and stalking to the door, Gokudera threw a punch at the metal, yelling in frustration when all he managed to do was hurt his own fist. Letting his head rest against the coolness of the door, Gokudera squeezed his eyes shut, all of the fight leaving his body in an instant.

It had been _days_, just _days_, since the younger version of the Tenth had come to this time. Only days since his arrival. And already Gokudera was feeling more worn out and frustrated and _angry_ than ever. He hadn't felt this helpless since before he had met Tsuna.

It had only been days and already Gokudera was absolutely ready to just throw in the towel and blow everything to hell. This was so goddamn frustrating and Gokudera couldn't take it anymore. The only reason he wasn't giving in to his stupid desires was only because he knew that the Tenth would have kept going no matter what in a situation like this.

Sighing, the bomber unclenched his fist, the cool metal intensifying his shivers. He just wished he knew how to handle all of this.

He'd read in a book once about names for emotions that you couldn't describe. For the life of him, Gokudera could barely remember a thing about the book. The only things that had really stuck with him were two terms.

_Énouement_ and _Mauerbauertraurigkeit_.

He'd been nine when he'd read about those words without a clue how to pronounce them. He'd hardly understood their meanings, either. But he did now. More than eight years later, those were the only words that would come to mind.

_Énouement._

The feeling of having seen the way the world turns out, what the future will become, and being unable to go back in time and warn yourself. And in this situation, something in his head was screaming at him.

It screamed at him that this was a chance. This was a chance to make everything right. To let the Tenth's younger self understand the dangers of the future and how to help in the past.

But that wasn't the way he had wanted to go about this. Because it shouldn't be the Tenth. Anybody but the Tenth and it would be completely fine for Gokudera. He didn't care if it was himself who took the Tenth's place—actually, he'd probably prefer it at this point. But he didn't want a world without the Sawada Tsunayoshi he'd grown to care for.

And that was where the second word came into play. _Mauerbauertraurigkeit._

The urge to push the people you love most away from you. It was as if everything inside was shut off to the world, leaving him blind to the way others were feeling. He couldn't distinguish between someone lying to him or someone telling him the deepest, genuine truth. It was an empty feeling that left him grasping in the dark for some kind of anchor to hold down his own drifting thoughts and emotions.

He was pushing the Tenth's younger self away, and he couldn't be sure why. All he knew was that his head was screaming at him not to trust the younger boy while his heart screamed at him to gather Tusna up in his arms and never let him go, regardless of what time he was from.

So, to try and find some semblance of balance in his messed up life, Gokudera took to avoiding the younger Tenth. It was too dangerous to do anything other than keep out of the boy's way. When he was with Tsuna, things ended up getting turned around and Gokudera suddenly found himself lashing out, with no idea why.

His bottled up feelings were choking him and every minute of the day it was like he was struggling to keep inhaling and exhaling. Like if he didn't constantly remind himself to breathe, he would somehow forget how to.

It was driving him absolutely insane.

Striking at the door again with a closed fist, Gokudera yelled out. "Damn it all! Damn it all to HELL!"

This wasn't working. Bottling his feelings, avoiding the younger Tenth, ignoring the problem and pretending it didn't exist. It wasn't working for him. Or anyone really, for that matter. All it was doing was causing more problems and creating issues that he would someday have to face if he didn't want to break down crying while he screamed his lungs out in his insanity.

A bang on the wall startled Gokudera, distracting him from his darkening thoughts for the moment. But it was coming from the other side. Curious, Gokudera opened the door and peeked out, only to find a cloaked man slumped against the wall opposite his door.

Immediately suspicious, Gokudera fingered his belt buckle, fully ready to activate his Vongola Gear if the man made any wrong move.

"Who are you?" Gokudera asked in Italian, green eyes cold and emotionless. "If you're an enemy spy, you can rethink trying to escape."

The man underneath the cloak chuckled for a moment, his laughs turning into wet coughs in an instant. Raising a hand to his mouth, the man coughed a few more times before he pulled his hand, now splattered with blood, away.

"What's wrong with you?" Gokudera asked, stepping a foot closer.

The man shrugged, though it was hard to tell with the heavy cloak on, and pushed himself up. Gokudera steeled himself and his expression as he continued to watch the man move, wondering what the hell this guy was up to.

This guy shouldn't have been there, as no one was allowed on the twentieth floor, but Gokudera got the feeling that the man wasn't one to play by the rules.

And another question was just what this guy had done to get so hurt that he had internal bleeding and was coughing it up. If he hadn't been the enemy—and Gokudera _knew_ he was the enemy, because Reborn would never tolerate anyone wearing cloaks and hiding their identity—then Gokudera would have taken him to the infirmary by now.

"You're a guardian, aren't you?" The man asked, his voice rough and gravely, and in Japanese no less, which surprised the bomber to no end. And if Gokudera was to guess, the man didn't talk all that much in his life. "Ah yes, of course you are. Gokudera Hayato. I should have known it would be _you_ I'd run into."

"And what the hell does that mean?" Gokudera spat, tensing in preparation to hold his own or roll away. Whatever came at him, he was ready. "Who the hell are you and how do you know me?"

"So many questions," the man clucked. "In any case, I don't believe I should be your highest priority right now, right? Of course I'm not."

"What are you talking about?" Gokudera asked, feeling a little lost. The way this man talked left the bomber reeling as he struggled to piece the man's sentences together into something comprehensible. His odd way of speaking was more than confusing.

"I'm wondering if the Decimo's having fun without you," the man grinned, gaining Gokudera's complete attention. "Of course he isn't. Because he's _dying_."

Gokudera's blood ran cold. The shiver down his spine was back and the bomber made a sudden leap at the man, only for the cloaked guy to practically disappear right in front of his eyes. Gokudera ducked just in time to not get beheaded, lashing out with a kick to the man's gut that sent them both stumbling away from each other.

Goddammit. This guy was _fast_. No, he was _beyond_ fast. Gokudera could barely keep up with him. So that meant if this man had fought with the Tenth's younger self, he wouldn't have stood a chance, even with this cloaked guy being injured.

Could what this guy was saying be true? Could the Tenth—the younger Tenth—really be dying right now?

"What did you do to him, you bastard?!" Gokudera growled, a fierce feeling of protectiveness clawing its way into his throat. If he hadn't been so focused on this guy in front of him right now, the bomber probably would have choked up and stopped breathing from the intensity of the feeling. "Where is he? What happened to the Tenth?!"

The man chuckled. "Sawada Tsunayoshi will _die_ and there will be nothing you can do to stop it."

And Gokudera suddenly got the feeling that they weren't talking about the present right now. So that meant….

"You're with the Argine," Gokudera realized, scowl deepening. "Where is the Tenth?"

"Where he's been for the past couple hours," the man admitted, grin growing gradually wider. "In the training room. And yes, you could say that I'm allied with Mr. Argine. We have a…deal, of sorts. Is it very complicated? I'd say so, yes."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gokudera asked, feeling very much like he was being toyed with.

The man shrugged, clearing his throat a little before going back to grinning. "It's more fun when all of the pieces are on the chessboard for both opponents, yes?"

"What does that mean?!"

"Of course it is."

"Wha-?"

"I'm a very straightforward man. Tricks aren't really my forte. No, that's more Mr. Argine's strong suit. It's more entertaining to beat down your opponent by sheer strength, isn't it?"

And then, without Gokudera even blinking, the man was gone. He disappeared right before the bomber's very eyes, so Gokudera had done the next best thing he could think of. Set off the intruder alarm.

And that's when things got very loud.

* * *

In the end, it was the Tenth who had found him, not the other way around.

Gokudera had been rounding a corner, sprinting for the elevator with all of his speed, and in the midst of all of his agitation, he hadn't even noticed the spiky-haired brunet until he had tackled the boy and was quite literally on top of him.

"Tenth?" Gokudera breathed, relieved, angry, frustrated, agitated, and tired all at the same time. The bomber felt like breaking something, just so he could release some of his pent up emotion. But he didn't have time for that right now. He needed to focus.

The Tenth didn't say anything, but it looked like he desperately wanted to. Either that or collapse in tears. The boy looked so fragile that Gokudera had no idea how to comfort him without breaking something else.

"What happened?"

"I…." The Tenth trailed off, his voice hoarse, barely there, and that's when Gokudera noticed the strangulation marks around the Tenth's neck. The boy swallowed thickly and wet his lips, probably preparing himself to try again. "A…A man. In a cloak."

The Tenth's voice spluttered out at the last word and the boy dissolved into a coughing fit. Something inside Gokudera clenched at his heart and suddenly Gokudera found himself pulling the Tenth into his arms, unwilling to let the boy go without any comfort.

"I met him," Gokudera softly confirmed as his head screamed at him to let the boy who he couldn't trust go. Gokudera felt emotion well up in the base of his throat, choking him. But this time, instead of listening to his head or his heart, he listened to his instincts. He kept the boy in his arms and kept talking, filling any silence that would force the Tenth to speak more than he had to. "I pulled the alarm when he ran away. The others should be here soon."

And now Gokudera wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure the Tenth's younger self or himself.

He pulled the boy, so painfully thin it seemed, closer to him, noticing his shaking. "Te- Tsuna?" Gokudera asked, making a split second decision that he'd probably come to regret. "Are you alright?"

Tsuna opened his mouth as if he were going to speak, but then a deep shiver took over the boy and Tsuna closed his mouth, just desperately shaking his head. He looked so lost and Gokudera had no clue what to do about this.

Thankfully, Yamamoto rounded the corner at that very moment, looking winded. Gokudera guessed that he'd probably sprinted all the way there. The others were probably only minutes behind the swordsman, which meant that the next one who was got there was Gokudera's cue to chase after the cloaked man.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto gasped, kneeling down next to the trembling boy. Confused amber eyes searched Tsuna's form, taking in everything from the shaking to the strangulation marks to the exhaustion and fear in those brown eyes. "What is it? What happened? Are you alright?"

The boy said nothing, his gaze distant.

"_Tsuna_."

Jumping slightly at the harsh tone, Tsuna looked to Gokudera. Noticing that he looked more grounded than he had a minute ago—probably because he had Yamamoto here now—he opened and closed his mouth, looking like he was attempting to speak but couldn't find the right words.

"Are. You. Okay?" Yamamoto asked, settling a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. Tsuna's eyes followed the swordsman's hand as it gripped onto him. Switching his gaze back to concerned amber eyes, Tsuna nodded slowly. And without even realizing that he had been so tense, Gokudera unconsciously let himself relax.

Tsuna was okay.

And suddenly Gokudera shoved Tsuna into Yamamoto's chest and off of his lap, obeying some weird impulse to push the boy away. Both Yamamoto and Tsuna gave him a confused, slightly hurt look. But Gokudera was past caring. He hated feeling this way, and there was a cloaked enemy out there.

Sounded like the perfect opportunity to vent his emotions without giving in and yelling at Yamamoto or Tsuna.

So, the moment Hibari, Ryohei, Mukuro, and Chrome, he took the female illusionist by the hand and led the two most ruthless guardians away from the scene and towards the elevator, leaving Ryohei with Yamamoto so he could help Tsuna.

"Come on," Gokudera growled. "I'm not going to let that bastard get away from me a second time."

"Mukuro chuckled. "There shouldn't have been a first time," the illusionist chided.

The bomber twitched in agitation. "Shut up, you bastard, or I swear to God I'll kick your ass all the way back to Japan."

"Shut up or I will bite you to death," Hibari growled, tonfa out and at the ready. "Do you know where he went?"

Gokudera shook his head. "I was hoping we could get to the power stations and look at the cameras. The guy's pretty damn fast, but we could slow down the cameras down enough to be able to catch him."

"No need," Chrome said, closing her eyes and bringing a finger to the Bluetooth attached to her ear.

"What?" Gokudera asked. "Why not?"

"Ken says that a man wearing a cloak was caught raiding the main infirmary," Chrome said, pausing for another second to listen to whatever her friend was saying. "They've got half a squadron holding him off on the first floor."

"Holding him off?" Mukuro asked, sounding irritated. "Can't they just capture him?"

Gokudera scowled. "I doubt it. Even injured, that bastard was more than a match for me."

"Then if we take too long, he might get away," Hibari said as they reached the elevator. Gokudera let go of Chrome's hand as she repeatedly tapped the call button, the bomber not in the mood to be on the receiving end of purple-haired girl's wrath. "We should hurry. I'm itching for a fight where I don't need to hold back," he added.

Gokudera huffed in frustration as the numbers above the elevator changed to slowly.

"You and me both."

* * *

When Tsuna had awoken from his impromptu nap, he had found two blurry figures standing over him. Unable to register anything for a split second, Tsuna took a moment to stare at the figures that were starting to slowly come into focus, wondering why they seemed so familiar. It took a minute, but it finally clicked in Tsuna's head why the two people above him looked so familiar and yet so hard to place.

They were the two new recruits that Hibari had been training when Tsuna had first arrived here. The cautious brown-haired one Tsuna had watched slump in defeat before the vicious Hibari, stood back slightly while the blond-haired one, the reckless one, knelt down next to Tsuna.

"You okay?" the blond asked.

Tsuna stared at him, not comprehending for a moment. "Wha…?"

"The yellow light was on when we came to train by ourselves," the blond explained. "Yellow means injured, so we came in to help and we found you passed out on the floor. You alright now?"

Gaping, Tsuna pushed himself up slightly with his forearms, grimacing when it pulled at his throat. He coughed a little and wet his lips, his breathing rattled in his chest. "I…I thought you…didn't-"

"Speak Japanese?" the blond asked. He shrugged slightly. "They just assumed, I think. It was never really a question that anyone asked me."

Tsuna paled, realizing the implications of that statement. "Then that means…."

The kid nodded and smirked. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with us."

Tsuna glanced over at the other kid, who was frowning at his friend, looking less than happy about the proximity to Tsuna. He didn't know if he should trust these guys at all, but as the memory of him getting strangled came back to him, he figured that was the least of his problems.

"Names?" Tsuna croaked, wincing at the impoliteness. It'd have to do, though, since he could barely speak without throwing himself back into another coughing fit. It didn't seem to matter to the blond kid, though.

The blond kid smirked. "My name's Edric, but you can just call me Ed," he said. Then he pointed to his brown-haired frowning friend. "That's Zeki. He's not too fluent in Japanese, but I'm teaching him. You're Tsuna, right? Can I call you that?"

Tsuna just nodded. Then he glanced at the door. Despite the fact that there was a cloaked assassin out there somewhere in the base—probably—Tsuna felt safe with these two other kids. He didn't know them, but they were nice and helpful and probably the least confusing things that he had been faced with in this time.

"I need…friends," Tsuna gasped out. "There was a…man."

Ed's brow furrowed as he pointed at Tsuna's neck. "Did he do that to you? It doesn't look too good. And you're not sounding too good, either. Do you want any help getting to the infirmary?"

"Fine," Tsuna said, shaking his head and pushing himself to his feet. And while he wasn't all that sure he would get very far, Tsuna at least felt that he was steadying enough to take a step forward. So that's what he did. "Gotta get…Yamamoto."

"The Guardians?" Ed questioned. Tsuna nodded, and he was grateful when Ed just shrugged, not pushing him to go to the infirmary. "Floor Twenty. That's the floor where the Guardians' bedrooms are. That'd be the first place I'd look. Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to help you get there, Zeki and I aren't allowed up there."

Tsuna just nodded and slowly made his way out of the comfort of the training room and down the hall to the elevator. With every step, Tsuna wobbled, but he kept on his feet, determinedly pushing his way forward. He needed to get to the others and tell them what happened.

And he was more than relieved by Gokudera's appearance that he barely even noticed that the bomber had started to call him Tsuna. But then the fear and trauma started to catch up to Tsuna. The panic almost took him over, but when Yamamoto arrived, Tsuna felt some sort of strength take over him and ground him.

And then the others arrived and Tsuna had found himself shoved into Yamamoto's arms.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. "Tsuna!"

He was exhausted and the moment Gokudera led the other Guardians away, Tsuna felt all of the fight leave his body. Exhaustion crawled throughout his veins, dragging down his limbs and making him slump onto Yamamoto's shoulder.

He fell asleep to yellow flames and his name echoing in his ears.

* * *

_Present_

"_Did I already tell you you're an asshole?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Well, I didn't mean it. You're a bastard with no regard for what the young people want these days."_

"_I was under the impression that I was an infant."_

"_And I was under the impression that you were an Arcobaleno."_

Reborn couldn't get his previous conversation with Tsunayoshi out of his head. It was plaguing his every thought, capturing his attention the moment he didn't need to focus on something else. Had he not been trained to never get distracted at a crucial moment, he would imagine that this would be a lot more troublesome than it already was.

The phone call to Shoichi had gone pretty well. The timid inventor had received the memories from the future, so he wasn't altogether surprised when Tsunayoshi called him asking for his help, but he was rather reluctant to lend his services. Reborn had to remind himself that this was a kid that hadn't experienced as much as his future self had. This wasn't the Shoichi they were acquainted with in the future.

Eventually, though, they had managed to convince the redhead to help them out. Shoichi agreed, as long as Spanner would help him. One call to the blond had everything set up and the two inventors were set to meet Tsuna and Reborn in the morning to see if they could all come up with something.

"Hey Reborn," Tsunayoshi yawned, interrupting the hitman's attempts to distract himself. The boy was currently sitting on top of Tsuna's bed, clad in a pair of Yamamoto's sweats and T-shirt. The clothes Tsuna owned now were a bit too small for the teen to fit into, and thus Yamamoto had offered his own old clothes.

"What is it?" Reborn asked as casually as he dared. The hitman hopped onto the desk to be a little more on Tsunayoshi's level. "You've been rather quiet the past hour. No sarcastic remarks or anything."

Tsunayoshi didn't say anything for a while. He just looked Reborn up and down and the hitman got the feeling that this future version of his student knew exactly what was ailing him.

Finally, "I'm sorry that I can't do anything about the curse right now, but you've got to trust me when I say I will fight tooth and nail to make things better."

Reborn looked to Tsunayoshi with new eyes, his mind whirring. It wasn't possible. He couldn't know. And yet...

"_I was under the impression that I was an infant."_

"_And I was under the impression that you were an Arcobaleno."_

Tsunayoshi knew about the Arcobaleno curse and wanted to do something about it. But...

"I've learned to accept it," Reborn said quietly, squashing down every hope that threatened to rise up in his chest. Feeling heavier than he had in a long time, Reborn cleared his throat. He wouldn't let this affect how he went about life. He had a mafia boss to train. He held up Leon, already in gun form. "Dame-Tsuna. I suggest you get ready for bed."

Tsunayoshi looked unimpressed. The brunet frowned. "Don't be an asshole, Reborn. I know all about-"

"Or, if you'd like, I can set Lambo on you after he's eaten a tub of ice cream I've already given him and see how well you manage," Reborn suggested.

Tsunayoshi's expression soured. "You wouldn't."

Reborn smirked. "Try me."

He'd given up hope too long ago for it to be reignited now. At the moment, all he needed to focus on was getting his student, both past and present versions, back to their rightful times.

* * *

**To riana rox - **Well, I'm glad you felt spoiled then, sorry about now! It's been quite a while since I updated and I've been less than motivated to write. I'm glad you like this story! I'm so grateful that you would leave a review! Teach me my ways? Well, it takes effort. Lots and lots of effort. And practice. Thanks again for your review!

**To lovleydragonfly - **Yeah...sorry about that. And about this chapter. I'm hoping I'll get better soon so I can actually do something besides watch movies all day long. It's hard to put any effort in when you're sick. Anyways, I promise next chapter will deal with the enemy. Thank you for reviewing!

**To shinXlullaby - **Thank you so much! I'm glad you think so! It always makes my heart swell with happiness when people like my stories. Makes me feel like I'm helping them find some more happiness in their lives. Even if they don't need it. Thanks for your review!

**To alisafyi9246 - **I'm glad you think it's interesting! And I'm happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for your review!

Again, thanks for the reviews. And I'm hoping I'll have the next chapter out soon!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR**

* * *

"Do you think we're too late?"

"Stop worrying. If we're late, we're late."

"Shut up, Julie. If you hadn't taken a stroll around the rec room, we would have been able to meet up with Sawada earlier."

"…."

_Smack._

"OW! What as that for?"

"For looking at me weird."

"I wasn't looking at you weird, I was minding my own business! It's not my fault you're a maniac."

Enma sighed, letting his friends bicker it out themselves. The elevator dinged, signaling their floor. The doors slid open, but the two behind the redheaded boss hardly noticed. Reluctantly, Enma turned around and cleared his throat, catching his guardians' attention.

"Adel, we're here."

The black-haired girl straightened up to her full, towering height instantly, ceasing her argument with Enma's more laidback guardian, Julie. She swept out of the elevator, leaving behind an irate desert-flame user and an exasperated boss.

"Let's go, Enma," she ordered, leading the way down the hallway. Enma didn't really have a choice of whether he was going to follow or not. Besides, Adelheid was the only one who had been to the base before. She was the only one who knew where they were going.

Enma and Julie trailed after her, following her warily into a room with a long table surrounded by many chairs, a few which were occupied by vaguely familiar members of the Vongola. It looked like a room set up for meetings with important delegates—which Enma supposed they were, but he would much rather sit down in Tsuna's bedroom and chat than meet with the Vongola Decimo and his entourage.

Still, this topic was too important to not include the rest of the Vongola. They were at war, after all.

Adelheid let out a small, impatient breath, and Enma could hardly blame her. They'd been standing in the doorway for almost thirty seconds now and the geezers sitting at the far end of the table had done nothing but glance at them briefly and return to their conversation.

Julie snickered. "And you thought we were going to be late, Adel," he said, grabbing his stomach as he almost doubled over from trying to keep his laughter to a minimum.

Adelheid glared at the fedora-clad man, stopping his silent laughter in a heartbeat. "We _are_ late, you idiot. But apparently, so is everyone else, by the looks of it. Or maybe they just got tired of waiting…."

The last part was more to herself, but the other two heard it anyways. Enma glanced around the room, and seeing no sign of a meeting being held—wasn't there usually food and papers and such?—he turned to his guardians.

"Maybe they forgot," he suggested.

Adelheid raised an eyebrow. "Forgot? About a meeting that's been planned for a week already? I highly doubt that Hibari Kyoya or Reborn would let Sawada forget something this important."

"Or maybe they're taking a break," Julie cut in. "That's what I should be doing right now."

For once, Adelheid just ignored Julie in favor of the problem at hand, of which Enma was actually pretty grateful for. If Adelheid was right, then that meant something was wrong with Tsuna and his family, and these old geezers in here either weren't aware of it, didn't care, or were in on it.

That worried Enma a little. He knew that some of the higher-ups in the Vongola weren't too happy about Tsuna taking the mantle of the Family, and some had even turned on him before the war had started, but after the war, there really hadn't been much resistance from the older generations.

"Kozato?"

Enma turned around, curious as to who was calling him. Adelheid and Julie peeked back as well, taking in the visage of one Gokudera Hayato, who was just standing there, blinking at the Simon Family like he couldn't believe they were actually here.

Another glance over the Storm Guardian of the Vongola led Enma to believe that Gokudera had just finished fighting. Not sparring, fighting. He was bleeding from scratches all over his face and he was holding his wrist gingerly, like it was sprained or broken or something.

"Gokudera Hayato," Adelheid drawled, her hands settling on her hips. "Nice of you to meet us. Now where is Sawada? We weren't expecting to stay too long, and the Vongola being late to this meeting has set us back too far already."

Enma didn't point out the fact that _they_ were the ones who were late to the meeting, and that the Vongola just hadn't shown up. He figured it wouldn't go over well with either Adelheid or Gokudera.

Scowling, Gokudera just scoffed. "We've got bigger problems to deal with than your scheduling mishaps." Pushing past the three Simon, Gokudera stalked over to geezers sitting on the other side of the room. In Italian, he asked, "_Did you guys find anything? If you say no, I swear I will blow you to pieces and feed the scraps to the dogs_."

One of the old men, the oldest it looked like, rubbed his temples, just sighing. "_No need to let your temper get away from you, Hayato Gokudera,_" the old man said. "_We were just about to wrap things up here. If you would give us a few more minutes-"_

"We don't have that kind of time!" Gokudera yelled, switching back to Japanese—probably not on purpose. "You guys said you would find this guy! Tsu- The Decimo gave you all that information and you're just going to waste it?!"

"Calm down, boy!" Another geezer snapped—in Japanese as well—standing up to tower over silver-haired teen. "These things take time! When we find the information, your Decimo will be the first one to know!"

Gokudera scoffed and stepped back, the fire in his eyes dying a little. "He's your Decimo, too, you know."

The second man was red in the face as he spluttered incoherently at the Storm Guardian, but the first geezer was quick to put a placating hand on his shoulder and mutter a few calming words in Italian. After that, the first man smiled wanly at Gokudera.

"It'll take time, _Tempesta_," the first man said in very accented Japanese. "Just wait another hour and we will have your information."

Gokudera clicked his tongue but said nothing more. Instead, he spun back around and marched towards the door. When he reached the Simon Family, he grabbed a very lost Enma's arm and led the redhead and his guardians out the door.

Enma sighed. "Should I even bother asking?" he asked Gokudera as he was dragged along.

"We've had a situation." Gokudera's shoulders were tense as he pulled them into the elevator and jabbed the button for the 24th floor.

"So we've noticed," Adelheid said drily. "Want to fill us in?"

"Not really," Gokudera replied shortly.

"Then can we just go home already- OW! Adel! What the hell was that for?!"

Ignoring his own guardians, Enma watched Gokudera's stiff form curiously. Something big was going on, that was for sure, and the way Gokudera was acting, it was obviously not being handled very well. Not to mention that the Simon Family presence probably wasn't helping in the least.

There was something else that was bothering Enma, though.

_Tsu- The Decimo gave you all that information and you're just going to waste it?!_

"Are you and Tsuna-kun fighting, Gokudera-san?" Enma asked softly, just so Adelheid and Julie wouldn't hear if they weren't listening. And they weren't. They were too preoccupied with their own argument.

Gokudera inhaled sharply and gave him a suspicious look. "What do you know, Kozato?"

Enma shook his head. "Nothing," he said, and he really didn't. But he wasn't an idiot, either. He could guess something was wrong by just listening. "You just called Tsuna-kun, Decimo. You _never_ call him Decimo when you're talking in Japanese. He told you he thinks it's too formal and you promised not to call him that. I was there."

Shaking his head, Gokudera just muttered, "It's complicated, and you should stay out of it."

"Fine," Enma sighed. "But can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"The Guardian's training rooms," Adelheid supplied. "The twenty-fourth floor."

"And just how do you know that, Adel?" Julie asked. "You didn't seriously memorize the whole layout of this giant place, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Adelheid exclaimed. She turned to Enma just as the elevator doors slid open. "And I expect you to memorize it, too, Enma!"

"What?! Why do _I_ have to?" Enma complained.

"Sawada memorized it."

"Tsuna-kun lives here," Enma argued. "I don't live here."

"Just let Enma do what he wants, Adel," Julie cut in. "If he doesn't want to memorize the floor plans, he shouldn't have to do it."

Enma sighed for what felt like the millionth time that morning. He was just grateful that he didn't have Tsuna's eccentric guardians. He had no idea how the timid brunet dealt with them day in and day out. Enma didn't think he would be able to handle the stress.

Continuing to follow Gokudera down the corridor, which was starting to look really repetitive, Enma noticed that the normal quick to temper silver-haired teen looked lost in thought.

"This is it," Gokudera grumbled, stopping in front of a door that looked identical to all the others around it. He hesitated before going in, though, which Enma thought was really abnormal. Sure he hadn't seen the Storm Guardian in a while, but wasn't the guy all about charging into things?

"Gokudera-san?" Enma asked.

"Just…just brace yourselves for the situation in here," the bomber muttered. "Things are really complicated and there's no easy way to explain it. Just don't be offended."

"Offended by what?" Julie asked.

Gokudera didn't answer. Instead, he let the door slide open to reveal a scene that the Simon Family had walked in on too many times before. The Vongola Guardians fighting in one of the training rooms.

But there was something different about this time. There wasn't just fighting, but arguing, too.

Hibari Kyoya and Rokudo Mukuro were fighting each other to the death—which wasn't all that surprising—but, again, there was something different about this time. It was like they had a reason to battle rather than fighting just because they hated each other.

Sasagawa Ryohei was trying to calm the two down, but boisterously screaming "extreme" every two seconds was doing nothing but provoking both violent guardians further.

Chrome Dokuro was doing nothing but standing there, but she looked rather angry as well. Enma couldn't even imagine what had happened to get the usually shy, soft-spoken girl angry enough to show it.

The redheaded boss looked around for the two missing guardians, but found only one. Yamamoto Takeshi was crouched in front Tsuna, who was curled up in a ball instead of stopping his guardians from trying to kill each other. The two looked like they were arguing themselves, which was odd because Tsuna didn't fight with his guardians. He was too timid to really call them out on their chaos and they respected him too much to try and convince him of anything he wasn't willing to do.

Enma frowned, but decided he would dwell on that later.

Lambo Bovino was nowhere to be found.

He continued to look around the room.

The Cavallone boss, Reborn, and Tsuna's father were a standing a few feet from where Tsuna and Yamamoto were. They were bickering, but seemed a lot less physical about it than Tsuna's more violent guardians, but a lot more vocal than Tsuna and Yamamoto. Next to them was a boy around his own age that Enma had come to know as Basilcum. The teen looked nervous, but wasn't saying anything, and Enma could definitely imagine why. Who'd want to be in the middle of a boss fight?

"What the hell?!" Julie exclaimed, catching the attention of only poor Chrome.

Adelheid instantly punched the desert-flame user in the arm. "Shut up, Julie. Have some consideration."

"For what?" Julie asked, rubbing his arm. "This is chaos. Why isn't Sawada doing anything?"

"Shut up when you don't know anything," Gokudera muttered from next to them. Strangely, the words were kind of flat and lacking any of his usual ire. "He's…He's doing the best he can, okay? It's been a hell of a couple of days."

"_Hayato! Stop him!_"

All fighting and arguments came to a screeching halt at Yamamoto's urgent yell, everyone's eyes immediately drawn to the teen. The Rain Guardian's eyes were wide as he nursed what looked like a bruised jaw. But what Enma really noticed was there was a distinct lack of….

"Tenth!"

Enma jumped at the loud call from his left, turning quickly to see one of the strangest things he'd ever seen in his life: _Gokudera was man-handling the Tenth._

Okay, so that wasn't really true. It was more like Gokudera was trying to keep Tsuna from running out the open door as Tsuna tried his best to struggle out of his guardian's grip. Which still didn't make any sense, but it made more sense than Gokudera intentionally hurting his boss.

"One of you, quick!" Gokudera yelled to the frozen Simon Family. "Close and lock the door!"

Adelheid suddenly came to life from next to Enma, following Gokudera's instructions quickly and without hesitation.

"NO!" Tsuna screamed. "Let me go! That bastard's got to pay! He can take me home!"

"Not yet- Tenth!" Gokudera yelled, as he curled an arm around Tsuna's middle and pulled him up so his toes were barely dragging on the floor. "You don't have any information about this! There's nothing you can do!"

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Tsuna screamed as he squirmed in Gokudera's grip. "You don't know anything! You didn't hear him!"

Finally, Enma had had enough. He didn't know what was going on, or why Tsuna was acting like someone had just been killed, but the redhead couldn't watch Tsuna yell at the one who had stood by him through thick and thin.

"Tsuna-kun!" he shouted, feeling desperate and panicky for some reason. "What're you doing?!"

Tsuna froze, brown eyes wide as they found his unusual red ones. The two stared at each other for a moment before Tsuna's grip on Gokudera tightened and the bomber let him stand on his own two feet. Tsuna didn't let go, though. He just kept on staring at Enma like he was a stranger.

"Sawada!" Adelheid yelled, fed up with his odd behavior. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Tsuna turned startled eyes to rest on Adelheid, instead, before they glanced at Julie and over to the approaching Yamamoto, who had more than likely come over to diffuse the situation.

"Man, Tsuna," Yamamoto chuckled as he stopped next to Gokudera. "You pack one hell of a right hook."

Guilt-ridden and freaked out, Tsuna tightened his grip on Gokudera's arm and took a miniscule step back into the Storm Guardian's protective person. Gokudera winced slightly, and Enma imagined that Tsuna's grip wasn't all that pleasant.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna's head snapped up to meet the onyx gaze of his tutor, releasing Gokudera. "Reborn…."

Enma took one look at the ex-Arcobaleno and took a step back, terrified. The man was absolutely _livid_. If there was one thing that Enma knew, it was that Reborn was really scary. He had never experienced the absolute terror that was an angry Reborn, but he had had about it from Tsuna after the Inheritance Ceremony (the second one, not the one the Simon had crashed). And now it looked like he had front row tickets for himself.

"If you even _think_ about stepping a foot out of this base, I will string you up and shoot you so many times, you'll be begging the Argine to come and kill you, _you hear me?_" Reborn hissed. Tsuna flinched, but didn't back down.

"He has all the answers-"

"He almost _killed_ you!"

"Then I'll train!" Tsuna yelled. "I'll do whatever the hell it takes to-"

"Shut up, Tsuna!" Reborn shouted. "This is not your decision! At the end of the month, we will take you to the Argine base and go through with the resonance of the rings. No later and definitely no sooner. Got it?"

"But Reborn-"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!" Reborn glared at his student. "Do. You. Hear. Me?"

Tsuna grit his teeth, but finally looked away. "Yes," he murmured, his shoulders falling and the fight draining away. Now he just looked exhausted. "I hear you."

Reborn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Good. If I hear anything about you sneaking out of the base, I'm leaving you out of the attack."

And with those awful words of parting, Reborn was gone, Iemitsu yelling obscenities after him. No one in the room moved as Tsuna clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. Enma could tell immediately that Tsuna was beyond frustration, though. No, it was more like…despair.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto called, standing in front of the brunet and taking the boy's hand and leading him back towards the spot they had been in before. "Let's go sit down, yeah? You're still injured, after all."

Tsuna went with him without another word.

Enma looked to Gokudera in askance. The bomber just sighed. "It's a long story, Kozato," he said quietly. "It's not pleasant, it's complicated, and has so many different perspectives that _I_ don't even know everything."

"Someone infiltrated the Vongola base?" Adelheid guessed. "Do you have spies? Is that what all that was about?"

Gokudera's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yeah, we have a spy. The higher ups are looking into it now. But more than that, we have a former high-ranking Family member teaming up with the Argine. He infiltrated the base and almost strangled the Tenth to death. We're still trying to figure out who it is, though."

Julie raised his hand. "Not that I'm altogether curious or anything, but does Sawada look a little shorter than I remember?"

Enma started, gaze snapping to Julie's before looking to Tsuna's world weary form as the teen—no, it _was_ more like boy—sat down next to Yamamoto and curled back up into a ball. Now that Enma was looking, he could see what Julie was talking about.

Gokudera sighed. "I'll explain that later. We have more pressing issues," the bomber said. Straightening up, he looked each of the Simon in the eye, falling into his "right hand man" mode that Enma knew Tsuna appreciated so much.

"What's going on, Gokudera-san?" Enma asked softly. "I've never seen Tsuna like that before. If I can help, I want you to tell me."

Nodding, Gokudera gestured for Chrome to come over. When she did, he turned back to Enma. "First, I need to hear what information you brought back about the convergence."

Enma figured Gokudera was stalling a little, but didn't push the subject, instead nodding at Julie to tell the Vongola what they had discovered. Helping Tsuna would have to come in its time. Maybe Yamamoto just needed some time to calm the brunet down, or something. He wasn't too sure how else this was going to help Tsuna right now.

"There's not really much to tell," Julie said, stretching casually. "Basically, all we found out was what we've known for weeks. The Argine Family is converging on Halloween for some sort of major power up."

"Yes, but we did discover something weird," Adelheid reminded Julie.

Gokudera raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?"

"There're rumors of the Argine experimenting with time travel," Adelheid informed Gokudera. "We checked into it, and…." She trailed off, her eyes widening as she turned back towards where Tsuna was sitting. "_They didn't._"

Irritated, Gokudera clicked his tongue. "We've figured out they've succeeded already. Anything else?"

"They've got something weird planned for the convergence," Enma added thoughtfully. "From what our informant told us, it's supposed to be a counter measure for the Vongola's resonance plan."

"So they _do_ know about our plans," Chrome said softly.

"Apparently," Gokudera said. "The only thing that could make this situation any worse is if the training doesn't pan out."

"Or if Boss sneaks out to try and get home," Chrome suggested.

"Right. That, too."

That's when it clicked. Argine. Time travel. Tsuna was _shorter_ than before. The Argine had a counter measure for the resonance plan….

"Oh."

Everyone's eyes turned towards Enma, and the redhead found himself shifting uncomfortably under all of the attention, his cheeks reddening slightly. He hadn't meant to say that out loud at all, but it looked like his mouth had betrayed him, bringing everyone's focus onto him.

"What is it, Enma?" Adelheid asked.

"It's just…they said they had a counter measure for the resonance plan, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well, what if bringing Tsuna from the past _was_ the counter measure? It makes sense, right?"

("Wait, what?" Julie asked. He was ignored.)

Gokudera hummed thoughtfully. "That would make sense, but I don't think we should operate as if it's the case."

"You're probably right," Chrome said. "It could be dangerous to get overconfident if he figures out how to get the rings to resonate and we go into battle thinking that they don't have any defense. We should assume they've planned for us continuing the plan, even with a younger Boss and continue that way."

Before anyone else could say anything else, a loud roar of "EXTREME!" was called out, catching everyone's attention. Well, almost everyone. From the corner of his eye, Enma could see that Yamamoto was still trying to coax Tsuna out of his little ball.

Enma turned his full attention to the middle of the room, where Hibari Kyoya and Rokudo Mukuro were glaring daggers at each other. Both of their hands twitched and Enma thought that if Sasagawa weren't standing in between, the two would already be at each other's throats.

"Extremely slow down!" Sasagawa was yelling. "What would Sawada say if he were here?!"

"The Omnivore has no hold over me," Hibari ground out, grip tight on his tonfa. "And the stupid illusionist needs to pay for letting the intruder get away."

"Kufufu, I think you've got it backwards," Mukuro laughed, his voice light and calm, but his expression strained. He looked as ready for a fight as Hibari. "You need to pay, Hibari Kyoya, for putting my dear Chrome in danger. Because of you, Chrome was almost killed."

Enma was confused. They were talking about the intruder, but it seemed as if the guardians had fought him, and yet the guy had still gotten away. That didn't make any sense. Especially with Hibari _and_ Mukuro fighting.

"What happened?" Enma heard Adelheid asked Gokudera from behind him.

"The intruder attacked the Tenth while he was alone in a training room, almost killing him. I guess the guy was injured before he came to the base or something, because I met up with him next. He was still way too fast for me, so when he got away, I pulled the alarm and we all went after him." Gokudera clenched his fists. "Even with me, Chrome, Mukuro, and Hibari, he was still too fast and managed to get away. In the process, Chrome was hurt and now Mukuro and Hibari are blaming each other."

"If I may be of assistance," a voice said, and Enma turned to see Basilcum standing slightly off to the side, looking wary of coming any closer to the Simon. Enma didn't blame him, since they had just met a few months prior. The Tenth Generation Simon and Vongola were a disconcerting bunch while together.

"What is it?" Gokudera asked, frowning slightly.

"We need Tsuna-dono to break this up," Basil said. "Hibari-dono and Mukuro-dono won't listen to anyone else. Sasagawa-dono won't be able to keep them from fighting much longer."

Enma believed that. Sasagawa was a loud, violent person himself. He just wasn't cutout for peace-making. He really just encouraged more than placated. Enma was afraid that Basilcum was right in this. They really did need Tsuna. But was that possible right now?

Gokudera sighed. Taking Enma's wrist, he turned to the others and said, "Don't move. I'm going to see if we can snap the Tenth out of it and make him see some sort of sense." When nobody protested, he dragged Enma across the room stopped just before Yamamoto, who was sitting in front of Tsuna, softly speaking to Tsuna, who was still curled in on himself.

Enma stared down at the boy had saved him and his Family from his hatred, feeling sorry for the boy who was thrown into a world he knew nothing about. He couldn't imagine how it felt, but he still felt sorry for Tsuna.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. "Please answer me. Reborn isn't mad at you, you know that, right?"

Tsuna just shook his head and tightened his arms around his knees.

Yamamoto's face fell as he looked up at the two who had come over to whip Tsuna back into shape. "I don't know how to get through to him. It's just like…." He trailed off, unsure how to breach the topic that had been all but forbidden since Tsuna's recovery.

But they all knew what he was talking about anyways. For weeks, Tsuna had been unresponsive, too overwhelmed and caught up in what he had done to act like a human being.

And now, this was a kid who hadn't even gone through all of that being denied his way out. In Tsuna's eyes, Reborn and the rest of them were keeping him from returning back to his time. Enma wished desperately he could help out his friend, but wasn't all too sure what he could say.

"_Let me go! That bastard's got to pay! He can take me home!"_

Poor Tsuna.

Crouching down in front of the friend who didn't know him quite yet, Enma sighed. "Tsuna-kun," he called softly, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come.

As he predicted, Tsuna immediately stiffened and peeked up at Enma with wide, strangely innocent, brown eyes. Man, was that what Tsuna had looked like all those years ago? He really looked young. How come it had taken Julie pointing it out for Enma to actually connect the dots?

"Tsuna-kun, are you alright?" he asked.

"Who…who are you?" Tsuna asked hesitantly. "Do I know you?"

Enma rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I…guess. We don't meet until a few weeks after you come back from the future. At least, that's what you told me."

"So, you're someone I will meet?" Tsuna asked. "But..._who_ are you?"

"Oh, right," Enma said, feeling kind of silly. Tsuna didn't know him. "Kozato Enma. I'm your friend, Tsuna-kun. We had our fair share of fights," he ignored Gokudera's mutter of "_that's an understatement" _and continued on, "but we made it through great friends at the end."

"Why are you here?" Tsuna asked. "Do you need me for something, too?"

Enma shrugged. "Why not? I don't really want to do anything, so if you just want to hang out here, that's fine. Is that alright with you?"

Tsuna glared at him. "I'm not five. You don't have to treat me like I'm a child."

"I'm not," Enma said as he settled down next to the brunet. "I'd just rather be over here than over there with Adelheid." He pointed over to where Adelheid was slapping Julie around, probably to waste time while she waited for Enma to come back. "Sometimes she can be worse than Hibari."

Tsuna cracked a wry smile at that. "No one can be worse than Hibari-san," he said. "He's a monster. He's the one who trained me when we were fighting the Millefiore, and let me tell you, it was absolute hell. I'm just lucky I had all the support of my friends."

Tsuna's smile fell, and Enma blinked. So that's what the problem was. Judging by the surprised looks of Gokudera and Yamamoto, the two hadn't realized that Tsuna was homesick, just that he wanted to get home, probably believing that he didn't want to fight more than that he wanted to be surrounded by people who he was familiar with.

"You're friends are great," Enma found himself saying. "Without them, I don't think you and I would have become such great friends."

"Really?" Tsuna asked, successfully distracted. His arms loosened around his knees and he lifted his head a little higher to glance at Enma in surprise.

Enma nodded. "They really came through for you when you needed it, and I think since you thought of me as a friend, they thought of me as a friend, too. I think that really helped where our feud was involved."

Tsuna looked curious, but seemed to know not to ask about any details.

Both of them were silent for a few moments before Tsuna seemed to gather the courage to ask whatever had been bothering him.

"Hey, Kozato-kun, do you think that I'm going to be able to get back home?"

"Just call me Enma," the redhead said. "And, I hope so, Tsuna-kun. I want you to be able to get back to your friends just as much as I want to the Tsuna-kun that belongs in this time to come back. Because he's my friend, and in your time, the younger me is out there, in need of a friend. None of this is really fair."

"No, it really isn't, Enma-kun," Tsuna murmured, resting his chin on his knees.

"But you know what?" Enma said, gazing up at the ceiling. "I think, everything is going to turn out okay. We'll make sure of that. We always do, in the end."

Tsuna smiled softly. "I hope you're right, Enma-kun. I'm really glad that you decided to talk to me. I feel a lot better. Not as…angry."

Enma nodded. "That's good. Anger…anger does nothing but hurt others around you. It consumes until there's nothing left but hate and negativity. It eats away at everything until no one wants to be around you. You start to keep people at arm's length, and then you end up someone who you swore you'd never become."

There was silence from next to him, and Enma moved his gaze from the ceiling to rest on Tsuna, who was staring at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Did that…happen to you?" Tsuna asked uncertainly.

Enma shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I don't really remember much about what was happening around me back before I met you. I know I was concerned with holding onto the anger so I could take revenge. But when I met you and I got rid of my anger, my world looked a little brighter, especially with the people I had in it with me."

Tsuna was looking at him in awe now, and Enma couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

"You're amazing, Enma," he whispered. "How did you do that?"

Enma shifted uncomfortably. "I already told you. It was you. You helped me figure it out."

"Tsuna." Both Enma and Tsuna looked over to Yamamoto, who was staring at the brunet with his bright amber gaze. "Tsuna, this is for your own good, okay? Reborn didn't say it in the right way, but he means well. We just don't want to lose you, again."

Tsuna grimaced at the topic change. "You're talking about the Inheritance Ceremony, aren't you?"

Yamamoto shook his head. "Not just the Inheritance Ceremony, Tsuna. Think about it. If you go after the Argine now, while you can barely control the original ring, what do you think is going to happen? And how do you think your friends will feel when you don't come back to them. They probably miss you just as much as you miss them."

"I know, but what if he could get me home," Tsuna croaked. "The Argine brought me here, so they should be able to get me back, right?"

"They brought you here to mess up our plans," Gokudera reminded him. "Not for fun. If you go there now, they will kill you. And then how will you change the Vongola? How will you get back to your own time, then?"

"I don't…." Tsuna trailed off, looking lost.

"Tsuna-kun," Enma called gently. "If it were up to me, I'd charge into the Argine's base and help you get home in a heartbeat, but we don't have the power. We have to wait until we're all strong enough."

"And that means we have to wait a month," Tsuna said, seemingly starting to understand the situation. "I get it."

Enma sighed softly, letting his head fall back against the wall and closing his eyes. Why did this day have to be so stressful? He wanted to go back to bed and wake up when the war was over. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. Oh well, it was good to dream.

"Hey, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked after a moment of silence. Enma cracked his eyes open to look over at Tsuna, curious as to what the brunet was going to ask the swordsman. The boy tilted his head to the side curiously. "Why're Hibari and Mukuro fighting like they're going to actually kill each other?"

Groaning, Enma just let his eyes slide shut again. Again, he was glad he didn't have to deal with guardians like Tsuna's. He just wouldn't survive.

* * *

**Ha. Haha. Hi.**

**So, how's everyone doing? Sorry for the long wait. I'm not going to promise it won't happen again, because it probably will, but I should have something else out before Christmas. I took full advantage of my Thanksgiving weekend and I hope that this chapter was enough for you guys, because I'm am really really sorry for leaving you guys hanging like that. Seriously. I feel so horrible. **

**Anyways, what did you guys think about this chapter? I have to say, writing from Enma's POV was actually pretty fun. I think I made him a lot more exasperated in this time, but I think after years of dealing with both his and Tsuna's guardians _together_...wouldn't you be just done?**

**So, tell me what you think in a review please! And I'll get the next chapter up sooner this time.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello! Oh my gosh I am SO SORRY I'VE LEFT YOU GUYS HANGING FOR LIKE EVER. I have an excuse which involves a lot of medical bills, but I'll just say the good news instead of boring you with excuses. Guys, I'm graduating in like 3 months! I will have time to write so much! And I'm on Spring Break, so I'm going to try and get as much written this week as I can. Hopefully I'll have something for you guys by April. It makes my job a lot easier now that I have chapters 16 through 22 planned out, though, so I wasn't just being lately. Hopefully the chapters will come out a little faster.**

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed, and sorry I didn't reply. I haven't been on in a while. I will try to reply to everyone this time, though. So thanks again! You guys are awesome!**

* * *

_Present _

Nana stared down idly into the cup of tea she was nursing, her mind blessedly blank.

She sat at the counter of Takesushi, unsure of why she was here and not at home. Tsuyoshi hadn't said anything when she had come in—_ran away from home,_ a part of her whispered—and for that she was grateful. Thankfully, he had even allowed her to stay the night in the guest bedroom. She was glad he hadn't asked for any details about her staying over. He just took one look her lost and broken state and led her to the counter, promising her a cup of tea.

And now here she was, the morning after, staring into another cup of tea the sushi chef had prepared for her.

"Want to talk about it?" Tsuyoshi asked, sitting down next to her with his own mug. She said nothing, watching as he sipped the drink thoughtfully, not at all perturbed by her silence. That was something she was glad for, but maybe it was time she gave in. He was putting up with her for the moment, after all.

"Forgive me when I say this, Tsuyoshi," Nana started slowly, her mind still lagging as she remembered what had happened the day before, "but I'm not sure you would understand."

Tsuyoshi just chuckled wryly, taking another sip of his drink as he eyed her, a gleam in his eye Nana wasn't sure she comprehended. "Forgive _me_, Nana, but I think I would understand just fine. After all, Takeshi is involved in this mess as well."

Nana sighed forlornly. It had slipped her mind that Tsuna had befriended the sushi chef's son. She wasn't sure how, but Tsuna had suddenly befriended two people that practically attached themselves to Tsuna's hip, and sometimes she forgot that she wasn't the only parent that had kids involved in dangerous things.

"I just wish Tsuna would tell me what's going on instead of hiding it from me," Nana said, finger circling the rim of her cup. "I'm his mother. I'm supposed to help him with things whenever he needs it."

"Ah, but that's the tricky part, isn't it?" Tsuyoshi huffed good-naturedly. "Parents are always there for their children, but do the children always know that?"

Nana blinked at her friend. "What do you mean?"

Tsuyoshi shrugged. "Sometimes you have to let kids be kids. Independent. Let them find themselves when they go searching. They'll come to you when they need to, sometimes no sooner."

Nana put up with a lot of kids being kids. Her house was full of explosions and contests and screaming and laughter and altogether _closeness_. And yet, as close as she seemed to feel with Tsuna and the rest of the household, she had never felt so achingly far away from him, either. She wasn't sure she wanted to let the "kids be kids" anymore. Especially when it was causing Tsuna to start hiding things from her.

Suddenly a thought crept up to the forefront of her mind and she inhaled sharply. "You know what really happened when the kids went camping," Nana accused Tsuyoshi. "And that sumo tournament. You know what's been going on."

Tsuyoshi smiled sadly. "I have my suspicions," he said. "But if you really want to know, you should go to Iemitsu or Reborn-san. They're the ones actually in the know. All I know for sure is what Takeshi tells me whenever he comes home."

"What does he say?" Nana asked before she could stop herself. Tsuna never talked about anything with her anymore, and it was actually a bit disheartening. She wanted to know if someone else was in her position as well.

"He mostly just talks about a game he's been playing," Tsuyoshi sighed. "Yesterday, though, when he came home from that camping trip of his, well, let's just say it wasn't a fun conversation. The moment he saw me he started crying. It was strange. And then you came over just as he left again."

Nana remembered. She remembered being alone in the front yard, hanging up the laundry, doing nothing but waiting for her boys to come home. And then they had appeared out of nowhere. One minute she was alone, and the next, she turned around to find Lambo, I-pin, Reborn, and Tsuna all sitting in the doorway to the living room as if they had been there the whole time.

And Nana remembered the face of her dear Tsunayoshi, how his face lit up at the very sight of his Mama, as if he hadn't seen her in weeks. And then that puff of smoke, leaving behind someone who was definitely _not_ her son—

Inhaling sharply through her nose, Nana did her best to clear her thoughts. She didn't want to think about that right now. That's why she was here, after all. Because she couldn't face the person who wore the face of her son, but didn't quite fit the image of her bumbling Tsu-kun.

Finally, she turned to Tsuyoshi. "What's happening to my son?" she asked softly.

"Ask Iemitsu," Tsuyoshi repeated firmly. "Iemitsu is the one who can tell you _exactly_ what your son has been pulled in to."

"I see," was all Nana said, taking a sip from her tea. Maybe it really _was_ finally time to have a talk with her husband.

* * *

"Well?" Tsunayoshi prodded.

Shoichi sighed forlornly. This day was turning out to be worse than those he remembered from the future—which was impossible, seeing as he didn't actually _remember _the days he spent in the future, just what Yuni's flames showed him. He wasn't the same guy that Tsunayoshi and the other Vongola members remembered from the future. He hadn't actually gone through all that yet (and never would, if the Vongola and Arcobaleno had anything to say about it).

"This is going to take a while, Tsunayoshi-kun," Shoichi said, looking up at the brunet teenager sprawled out on the porch, lazily watching him and Spanner work their asses off. "As much as I hate to admit it, Spanner and I aren't exactly our future-selves and we don't work as fast, nor as efficiently, as they do."

Shoichi could feel his knees knocking together as he addressed the next Vongola boss, still uncomfortable with the fact that _this_ Tsunayoshi was so different from _that_ Tsunayoshi. The one that had visited his future-self ten years from now. Or had he _always_ been so scary?

Tsunayoshi, from his position on the wooden deck, just sighed. "Man, I'm _so_ bored. Never would I have thought I would be wishing to be able to go to school," the teenager just whined, completely ignoring the two mechanics—well, Spanner was ignoring everything as he worked, so who cared if Tsunayoshi ignored him back?

"If you're bored, why don't you study?" A squeaky voice sounded, and suddenly, Reborn hopped into view, somehow jumping from a tree branch and landing next to his student.

Shoichi shivered at the mischievous smirk adorning the hitman's face and promised himself and his gurgling stomach that he was going to stay far, _far_ away from the Vongola Decimo and his tutor from now on. No way was he going to be pulled into their stupid antics this time. Anyways, he had a job to do. Might as well go back to doing it instead of letting himself get thrown headfirst into trouble. Less collateral damage that way. Well, most of the times. Sometimes those machines could be a little...quirky.

"Hell no," Tsunayoshi snorted. "Just because I said I wanted to go back to school doesn't mean that I want to go back to the days where you blow me up every time I get a question wrong."

"Too bad," Reborn said, and Shoichi couldn't help but think, as he screwed in something that went somewhere on the machine they were building, that Reborn seemed to be giving in way too easily.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one, because in the time it took Shoichi to blink, the brunet was sitting up, a wary expression settling upon his face. "What the hell are you up to, Reborn?" Tsunayoshi asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Reborn replied. The Arcobaleno turned away to stare at Shoichi. "Speaking of school, Shoichi, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Shoichi shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. But I told my mom that I needed to help a friend today, and she just shooed me away with her blessing to skip school. So," he gestured lamely at himself, "here I am."

Tsunayoshi huffed out a laugh. "Nice, Shoichi." The Decimo paused a moment and looked over the machine that was getting close to half way done, as if contemplating something. "By the way, Shoichi, I talked to Hayato this morning. He said he would be over here as soon as school is over to help you with the theoretical stuff."

Shoichi just sighed as Tsunayoshi sprawled back out across the porch, apparently not interested in Shoichi's work now that his message was delivered. And Gokudera was coming over this afternoon to help him, too.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Hana was having a bad day. And it was all thanks to a certain _someone_ who kept throwing everything she knew about everything out the window.

Well, more like certain some_ones_.

It was no secret that Hana wasn't Sawada Tsunayoshi's biggest fan. She didn't _hate_ him, per say, but he acted weird and threw her off in the oddest of ways. Running around in your underwear isn't exactly the best way to make an impression, after all, and though the kid had stopped that odd quirk some time ago, he still seemed to make the day about ten times more interesting than it should be.

And yet, the last three days had been pretty mundane.

People were starting to talk, too. Rumors were flying, and people were _interested_, and that never seemed to turn out well for anyone. Especially for the ones the people were interested _in_. All in all, it was a bad situation.

Hana was irritated.

And a glance over at Sawada's desk told her what she probably already knew.

Sawada was missing, people were saying. Him and his two monkeys, along with Kyoko and her brother. Some were even hinting that Hibari hadn't been seen in a long while, either. Not in the past day or two. And Sawada's group had been missing even longer.

And now it was starting to look like Sawada was shaping up to miss a fourth day. Sawada's empty desk said it all. And the lack of her best friend and Sawada's monkey's practically screamed the conclusion at her.

_There's still time until the bell rings_, she thought, glancing at the ticking clock. Only a little under ten minutes. And then the fourth day would be mundane as well, and if it was, Hana thought she might just go a little crazy.

Because _none of this was right_.

"Hana?" a voice spoke right in her ear, and it was only because the raven-haired girl recognized her best friend's voice that she didn't jump ten feet in the air and make a complete and utter fool of herself. Hana side-glanced at Kyoko—just enough to see the other girl's expression while still keeping an eye on Sawada's desk—but didn't respond. "Hana, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hana said automatically, barely even listening to herself speak.

Kyoko was silent for a half a second too long before she giggled. "You find something interesting?" she teased.

Hana let her lips twitch into a smile. "If by interesting you mean irritating, then yes. Sawada's gone again."

It was then that Hana stopped breathing, her eyes widening as she slowly turned herself to look at her best friend fully, ignoring Sawada's desk's emptiness in light of something much more important. Kyoko was _right in front of her eyes_. She was standing there, her golden hair and golden eyes and wondering expression as she pondered Hana's words.

But she was _here_. Next to Hana. Like she had never even been gone in the first place.

"Hmm?" Kyoko tilted her head to the side and glanced over at Sawada's desk. "That's not exactly unusual, is it? Tsuna-kun has a habit of being late."

"Kyo-Kyoko!" Hana stuttered, her throat tight with unusual emotion. Hana was a practical person and she did _not_ get emotional. So why were her eyes starting to water? Why did she feel like she wanted to throw her arms around Kyoko and never let go?

The golden-haired girl's gaze met Hana's own startled eyes. Her eyebrows scrunched up minutely. "Hana? What is it?"

"You're here. In school."

"Oh," Kyoko giggled. "You're talking about our camping trip!"

Hana raised a skeptical eyebrow, fuzzy feelings fizzing out quickly. Everything about this was screaming Sawada. "Camping trip," she repeated drily.

Nodding, Kyoko smiled softly. "Tsuna-kun, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Onii-chan, Reborn-chan, Lambo-chan, and I-pin-chan went on a camping trip! They brought me and Haru with."

"For three days?" Hana asked.

Her best friend's smile faltered a bit—hardly noticeable if she wasn't so used to the expressions that crossed Kyoko's open face. But she was. And she knew that there was something going on.

"We got a bit…lost."

And there it was. The lie that Hana had never thought she would hear come from her best friend's mouth. Granted, Hana wasn't all too sure Kyoko was lying per say, but she was confident that the golden-haired girl wasn't telling the complete truth.

It was in the way she wouldn't meet Hana's eyes. The way her fingers fidgeted as she settled her gaze in the middle distance. The way her voice quivered just a tiny bit on the word "lost", like she didn't know how to make herself sound convincing.

Because Kyoko had never lied to Hana before. She'd never had a reason to. At least, not before she started hanging out with Sawada.

But before Hana could call her best friend out on her fib, the door slid open and the class immediately quieted. Curious, both girls looked up from their conversation to catch a glimpse of whatever had seized the attention of their classmates.

And, thankfully for her sanity, it was Sawada's monkeys.

The two walked in, the smarter, gruffer looking one sporting his usual scowl and the taller, athletic one smiling at everyone and anyone that crossed his path. Hana's eyes automatically drifted behind the two where Sawada was usually tagging along, ready to chew him out for ruining three perfectly good days, but Sawada wasn't there.

It was just the monkeys and Kyoko, which was a rare sight indeed. Usually if Sawada was gone, then the monkeys were, too. The three were practically attached at the hip (and how that happened, Hana would never understand).

"Where's Sawada?" Hana asked, turning back to Kyoko. She was hopeful that the other girl might have some insight on where the current source of her irritation was today without his friends, but when all Kyoko did was frown in bafflement, Hana knew she was out of luck.

The two monkeys were arguing—albeit, one-sidedly—as the smarter one slammed the door shut and the taller one laughed at whatever the smarter one was yelling about.

Hana sighed. This day, while it was interesting, just wouldn't be allowed to progress any further until she found out what happened to Sawada, and the only way to do that was talk to his monkeys. As much as she didn't want to, this was going to bother her if she didn't just figure out where Sawada was and _why_ he was completely messing up her day—almost her whole week, actually.

"Come on," Hana sighed, standing up and snatching Kyoko's wrist. The raven-haired girl tugged Kyoko along until they were almost right in front of the arguing pair.

"I'm coming, too!" Yamamoto, the taller one, quipped to Gokudera, the smarter one. "You're not the only one who wants to see Tsuna."

Gokudera made some sort of noise hallway between choking and groaning. "Like I said, baseball freak, the only reason I'm going over there in the first place is to help Irie and Spanner with their calculations and theories! You can't help with any of that!"

Shrugging, Yamamoto just replied, "I'll just watch with Tsuna, then. You guys can do the math stuff."

"You're not getting the point, you idiot!" Gokudera seethed, although he was oddly quiet about it. "The Tenth said he didn't want to talk to us more than necessary. If that's what he wants, it's what he'll get!"

"Speaking of Sawada," Hana cut in, tired of sitting on the sidelines, "Where is he? And don't pretend you don't know. I _know_ you know."

Kyoko fidgeted nervously on Hana's right. "Is Tsuna-kun alright? Are his injuries too severe to come back to school?"

Gokudera scowled while Yamamoto chuckled—no surprise there—but neither of them seemed overly worried about the situation, so Hana knew that whatever had happened wasn't all that serious. Still, it was weird to see the trio apart when Yamamoto wasn't playing baseball.

"Tsuna's fine," Yamamoto said. "It wasn't even Lambo's toy bazooka this time!"

Elbowing the baseball player in side, Gokudera pushed him away from his desk. "You freak! If you think this situation is anything close to okay then you're a bigger idiot than I thought!"

Yamamoto took it all in stride as the two monkeys went back and forth again. Hana wasn't having it, though. After three normal days and a fourth lining up to be weird, but not weird enough, Hana was developing a headache. Why did Sawada seem to mess with her head so much?

"If it's alright, Yamamoto-kun, Gokudera-kun, do you think I could come with you to visit Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked, stopping the one-sided argument before Gokudera could pull out his dynamite (the monkey _said_ they were firecrackers, but Hana wasn't an idiot; she knew dynamite when she saw it). "You guys are going after school, right?"

"No," Gokudera growled. "No, no, no! The _baseball_ freak isn't even supposed to come! Now you, too?"

"Come on, Gokudera, she can come," Yamamoto decided, flashing one of his signature smiles at Kyoko.

Hana saw her opportunity, right then, and seized it. "Great," Hana said, smirking at the three in front of her. "If Kyoko can come, that means you don't mind me tagging along either, right?"

* * *

In the end, Hana ended up coming with the three to Sawada's house after school. Kyoko didn't seem to mind one bit, but Gokudera and Yamamoto were a different story.

After somehow managing to pick up two more people who weren't supposed to be coming to Sawada's house, the monkey couldn't seem to stop sulking. He glared and growled at anything that moved. He wouldn't speak a word to any of the three who were trailing after him, either.

Yamamoto was nervous, that much was clear. His eyes kept darting to the side to land on Hana before she caught his gaze and he sent her an unabashed smile. Still, it wasn't as genuine as some of the others she'd seen on his face before. He wasn't thrilled that Hana had invited herself.

Hana, for the most part, didn't really care much that the two monkeys were acting like she was the devil incarnate. In fact, it made this whole deal even more suspicious, and Hana couldn't wait to pry apart the group Sawada was somehow holding together. She would get to the bottom of this, even if it killed her. She was tired of being left out of things while her best friend got dragged around by these imbeciles.

"We're here," Kyoko said pleasantly, although the monkeys looked anything but thrilled.

Gokudera stopped in front of the gate, turning around swiftly and suddenly, startling Kyoko, Yamamoto, and Hana. "Listen up," he growled, speaking for the first time leaving school grounds. "Just because you three followed me, I am in no way responsible for any you making an entrance in the Tenth's home. Got it?"

Yamamoto just laughed. "Are we going to make it a game? Pretend Gokudera didn't even know we were tailing him?"

"No way in hell!" Gokudera shouted. "That would make the Tenth think that I don't even know when three amateurs are tailing me! As his right hand man, I couldn't be that incompetent if I really tried. That's your job, you baseball freak?"

"I don't really think so," Yamamoto said, although it looked like he was considering it. "I think I would be able to tail you without you knowing. Probably."

Hana was hardly listening anymore, her mind racing.

Gokudera had said "Tenth" again. And he had mentioned being a "right hand man". A right hand of what, though? Could it have something to do with Sawada's private group? Had he made some sort of organization, where he was the head and Gokudera the right hand?

"Gokudera-kun," Kyoko interrupted, bringing Hana's thoughts to a startling halt. "Do you think we could maybe go in, now? Tsuna-kun's probably expecting you, and I'd love to surprise him."

The growling monkey just sighed and grumbled a bit, before leading the group through the gate. Hana got a glimpse of the Sawada's front yard, and her first impression? Messy.

Sitting in the middle of the yard, right in front of the closed sliding glass door, was some weird half-finished machine…thing. Whatever it was, it looked dangerous, and nothing like what a middle schooler should have in his front yard. This was pushing past weirdness at this point, and Hana was honestly getting concerned. Who the hell had a futuristic machine sitting in front of their house? No normal person did that.

Gokudera poised to knock, Hana, Yamamoto, and Kyoko right behind him, but the delinquent didn't exactly get that far.

"This is ridiculous," a blond teenager muttered as he slid open the sliding glass door. He stepped out into the yard, completely disregarding the four people to his left, frozen at the front door. "How could they do that to my lollipops?"

Gokudera blanched. Yamamoto lit up like a light. Kyoko smiled softly. And Hana just stood there. Really confused about this kid that everyone but her seemed to know.

"Spanner?" Yamamoto called, raising up a hand in greeting. "I know Tsuna called you yesterday, but you got here pretty quick! When did you get in?"

The guy, Spanner, looked up, pleasantly surprised at the sight of the people waiting in front of Sawada's front door. He smiled slightly at Yamamoto, but otherwise looked pretty tense. Hana could only wonder what had gotten him so stiff. And he had been muttering something about lollipops, hadn't he?

"This morning," Spanner replied. "Well, technically it was really late last night if we were to go off Italian time. It didn't really take much to convince my grandfather to take an impromptu trip out to Japan to help you guys." He punctuated his statement with a yawn.

Gokudera just growled. "That's way too fast. The Tenth called you last night. And the flight from Italy to Japan is like fourteen hours. You must have left the minute he called you."

Shrugging, Spanner knelt down next to the dangerous machine Hana had deemed dangerous just moments before, picking up one of the wrenches laying on the grass. "Kind of. Maybe an hour or two afterwards. The Arcobaleno prepared a jet for us. So I don't think it was fourteen hours. But not too much less, either."

Yamamoto let out a laugh, but Hana wasn't sure what was all that funny about what the guy had been saying. She wondered if the monkey was just laughing because he hadn't managed to catch all of what Spanner had said.

But where did that leave Hana? She _had_ heard what Spanner said. Every. Single. Word. And yet, she seemed to be the only one really confused here.

"Italy?" Hana murmured, so only Kyoko could hear. The monkeys walked over to Spanner, arguing about something or another. The golden-haired girl caught her gaze, giving Hana a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Hana."

"For what?" Hana asked, even though she could think of half a dozen things Kyoko should be sorry for that Hana hadn't bothered to blame her for. This was her best friend after all. If Kyoko was lying to Hana, then it wasn't her fault. If she was doing things behind Hana's back, she had a good reason. It didn't mean that Hana enjoyed the experience of being slighted. But Kyoko was her best friend, and the only thing Hana could think to do was blame Sawada and his contagious weirdness.

"For keeping things from you," Kyoko said. "I've wanted to tell you about all of this since we got back yesterday, but I wasn't sure how to start. Or if I was even allowed to."

"Is Sawada threatening you?" Hana sniffed, tensing slightly. "If he's not letting you-"

"Hana." Kyoko shook her head. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not true. It's not my secret to tell. I don't want to betray Tsuna-kun if he doesn't want to get more people involved. I had to practically beg him to even tell me what was happening. And he almost didn't."

Hana heard the unhappiness in Kyoko's voice, though she had no idea what it meant. She just stared at her best friend, trying to find the girl that she had only waved goodbye to three days ago after a studying session. Where was her best friend, and who was this stranger standing in Kyoko's place?

As much as Hana hated to admit it, something life-changing had hit Kyoko while she was gone, and Hana had not been there to do any damage control like she was used to. Hana wasn't there, and now Kyoko was different.

But despite being different, Kyoko was still there, buried underneath all of that new experience. Hana wasn't sure if she was ready to have her best friend radically changed, but she supposed it was too late by now. It had already happened, and all Hana could do at this point was stay by Kyoko's side and try to figure out as much of this puzzle as she could. For Kyoko's sake.

"I understand," Hana finally forced herself to say. Kyoko's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly broke into a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Hana. You're the best friend I could ask for!"

"Spanner- oh. Gokudera-san. You're here."

A redhead poked his head of the living room. Spanner had left the door slightly open, and at the new boy's appearance, all three monkeys quit bickering and turned their attention towards the house.

"Irie?" Gokudera asked. "Wait. Where's the Tenth?"

The redhead sighed. He sounded pretty irritated. "Tsunayoshi-kun was starting to get…agitated earlier. I think Lambo's immaturity is getting to him. So he locked himself in his room and is refusing to come out without good reason."

Yamamoto looked mildly surprised. "What did Lambo do?"

"Got into my lollipops and thought it would be a good idea to lick them and stick them into Vongola's hair. He wasn't too happy about that."

Kyoko chimed in next. "Is Sawada-san not here? Or Reborn-san?"

The redhead glanced over at Kyoko. He looked about ready to puke—probably from stress—and Hana wasn't sure if she wanted to see the downfall of this. "I don't know where Sawada-san is. I haven't seen her since I got here. Reborn-san's refusing to help because it's, and I quote, 'not my problem.'"

Gokudera exhaled loudly out his nose. "Don't worry about the Tenth's mother for now. I'm sure she'll be back from Yamamoto's place soon. What I'm more concerned about is the random people that have been coming through. How many are here right now?"

Spanner shrugged, while the redhead just hung his head. "Your older sister's here," the redhead said. "Fuuta's trying to do the damage control I would assume is usually done by Tsunayoshi-kun. Lambo's refusing to leave Tsunayoshi-kun's door until he comes out to play with him. I-pin is…somewhere in the house. Shamal was here earlier to give Tsunayoshi-kun one last check up, but he left pretty much as soon as he got here, screaming about something. Oh, and I believe Tsunayoshi-kun's father is his bedroom talking with the Ninth about the situation."

"Is that it?" Yamamoto asked.

Hana blanched. _That it? That's like a billion people for one house_, she thought. She tilted her head back. _Make that one _small_ house_.

The redhead nodded. "Yes. Although, Reborn-san mentioned something about the Cavallone boss stopping by later. I think he might have an idea for an alternative to killing the Argine boss."

Hana's ears were ringing and her head was spinning. The redhead had said…he had mentioned killing someone. Was this all part of some sick game? Was he killing people for fun? Or were they joking? Another game that the baseball monkey seemed to love playing? Was Sawada just indulging him? And dragging Kyoko along with him?

Sawada. Just the sound of his name sent an icy rush of anger surging through her veins, and Hana had never had more of an urge to punch someone in her entire life.

Around her, Kyoko had stilled, Gokudera had stiffened, and Yamamoto was fidgeting uncomfortably. What was more, the monkey's eyes were both trained on her. Kyoko's weren't. Which said miles about just how much Sawada seemed to be keeping Kyoko out of his dirty game, which Hana could respect, but that didn't make anything else make sense.

"Uh, what did I say?" the redhead said, rubbing his stomach nervously as his eyes darted from one person to the next, before his green gaze settled on Hana. His eyes widened. "Oh. Oh no, I- I don't think you're supposed to be here. Not right now."

"Isn't she part of the Vongola, though?" Spanner asked, and Hana's attention snapped to the blond. "Pretty sure Kurokawa-san was mentioned a few times, even though she didn't get pulled forward with you guys."

Gokudera clicked his tongue irritably. "What do you know?! You weren't even there."

But Hana was hardly in the mood for any of Gokudera's argument games. Not when she had heard something that made her rethink everything she thought she knew about Sawada. Who joked like that? Did he get off on it? She knew Sawada was strange, but she didn't think he was a total creep? What was it that kept Kyoko close to him if she knew all about this?

Clenching her fists, Hana exhaled softly. "I hope you're all messing with me," she said, staring all four boys dead in the eye in turn. "And I hope you're not going to tell me you were serious about this sick game."

"Hana."

She turned to her best friend, and her face fell at Kyoko's conflicted expression. The girl looked like she was torn between crying her eyes out and running to Sawada to uncover the truth.

Hana's hard expression softened. "Hey, Kyoko. Don't worry. I'll figure this out. If-"

"Shoichi!" a voice cried out from inside the house, cutting Hana off. The door opened up a little bit more, and Sawada poked his head out. "What are you doing? Is Hayato…."

Sawada trailed off, his mouth forming a dissatisfied line as he caught sight of Hana and Kyoko. Hana's anger reared its ugly mug again, and she felt the inexplicable urge to deck Sawada right then and there. And she probably would have gone through with it, too.

But she couldn't. Because for some reason, Sawada looked older, more mature. All together different. He didn't look like he would trip over his own two feet. He didn't look like he would cower at the glare of a bully. He didn't look anything like the weird, idiotic Dame-Tsuna that Hana had come to know.

"Sawada?" Hana whispered, her mouth moving before her brain could catch up.

"Looks like you failed, Tsunayoshi."

Sawada rolled his eyes as an infant literally came out of absolutely nowhere and jumped on Yamamoto's frozen shoulder. "Oh shut the hell up, Reborn. It's not my fault that they came over and you know it."

"Should have tried harder," the infant told him.

"Probably," Sawada admitted, "but that would mean I'd have to try at all, and that was something I was trying to avoid. And look, now I _really_ don't have to try."

"Don't you care how this will affect your future?"

"It's not my future, so why should I care?"

Hana blanched. What was going on? This wasn't the Sawada she knew at all. The sarcasm, the bluntness, the scathing tone. None of it reminded Hana of the awkward kid that basically had no friends and always ran after Kyoko like a love sick puppy. No. This was a stranger.

The infant frowned. "Then what's the point of all of this? Of calling Dino to help you? Of having your father talk to the Ninth? Of looking for ways to protect your friends? If none of that matters, why are you trying to stop that horrible future when you could just let things run their course?"

Sawada was silent. He didn't speak for several for moments and his face was expressionless. The yard had gone completely quiet, as well. All eyes were on Sawada and the infant as they spoke to each other.

"I think you're wrong," Sawada finally said. The infant didn't look too happy about the other's words. "But at the same time, I think you're right. At least, you're right for the Tsuna in this time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the infant asked flatly.

Sawada took a breath. "While you're right about me making all those decisions to stop the Argine, you failed to notice that that's the only thing I have interest in. For the past four months, I've been fighting _a war._ It's been my life and I haven't given up. I've just been forced to change tactics because of the circumstances."

"Where are you going with this, Vongola?" Spanner asked. He seemed genuinely curious.

Sawada laughed humorlessly. "This is going to sound a little weird, but I _don't care_ what this time's Tsuna has to deal with, as long as the possibility of the Argine hurting my friends is eliminated."

"But- but you said that you were opposed to killing the Argine boss because you knew the Tenth would be uncomfortable with the sentiment," Gokudera threw out, although he looked pretty uncomfortable with even speaking up, the loyal puppy.

"No, I never said I was opposed to it," Sawada said, and Hana felt something within her chest go cold at his icy words. The idiot she thought she knew was suddenly looking downright terrifying. Blank brown eyes, expressionless face, detached voice. It was like he wasn't even human.

"I told you that if you didn't want to cut him down, then I wasn't going to stand in your way," Sawada continued. "I would help find a way to convince him to not blame the Vongola, and I am trying. I am playing my part in this way, the only way I can. And the only thing I plan to accomplish during this mission is stopping Argine before he becomes a threat to my family. I hold no regard for this time's Tsuna's personal life. I care for the safety of my comrades and stopping this war once and for all."

Hana was speechless _and_ confused. She turned bewildered eyes to meet Kyoko's baffled gold ones, and both just stared at each other, before looking back at Sawada and the infant.

Just what the _hell_ was going on here?

* * *

**Funny how things turn out, huh? So, next chapter (and pretty much until chapter 22 I think) will be 2!YL and we'll be following the present Tsuna struggle through some of the future's hardships. But hey, at least he's got Enma, now, right?**

**Also, if you ever want to chat or anything, my tumblr's **hometothesky** (Yeah, it changed). And if you ever want to see the chapter update schedule, check my profile page.**


	16. Chapter 16

Tsuna slumped face first on the bed.

It hadn't been expected, his day. Certainly hadn't been the best day. In fact, it was kind of tacking up to be one of the worst, with a few obvious exceptions. Starting the day training with Hibari and Reborn, continuing on to get almost strangled to death, and ending with breaking Hibari and Mukuro's fight up the best he could. He was eternally grateful that Yamamoto and Gokudera had helped him through it.

"Tsuna-kun?" Enma asked, and Tsuna just moaned into his bedcovers, exhausted to the point of being ready to drop off right then and there. He felt the bed dip down next to him. Realizing Enma had probably sat down for a reason, Tsuna looked over to the redhead blearily, eager to get whatever this was out of the way so he could just go to sleep.

Enma shifted, looking uncomfortable, though Tsuna couldn't imagine why. He was hardly intimidating—short and clumsy and insecure as he was.

"What is it?" Tsuna wondered, blinking rapidly as he shifted so that he could sit up properly. His face shoved into the covers wasn't exactly the most polite way to converse with someone. And since Enma was only visiting for a couple of days—a new development he really had no background information for—he supposed he really should try to pay attention to the guy.

"You look tired."

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed. "I…guess. It's been a long day."

Enma fidgeted again. "Yeah. I guess it has."

Running a hand down his face, Tsuna just sighed. This was taking an awkward turn and the last thing Tsuna wanted was for the conversation to drop off into an uncomfortable silence. He was way too tired to deal with any of that.

"Thanks again," Tsuna said, continuing when all he got was a questioning look at the change of subject. "You know, for talking to me after I…after. It helped. A lot. I just wanted to say thank you. So thanks." Tsuna could feel his cheeks heating up as his sentences became more and more fragmented, and he realized that ohmy_god_. This guy had just seen him freak out, get yelled at by a pissed off Reborn, and then managed to talk him out of his slump. Why was this guy still here after the mess Tsuna had caused with everyone?

"You're my friend," Enma replied easily, shoulders dropping a bit as the tension leaked out of him.

It must have been something Tsuna had said that had caused Enma to relax and realize that Tsuna really was just a nervous bunny. The rule _he's more afraid of you than you are of him_ definitely applied with Tsuna. It seemed he was terrified of everything that _breathed_ in this time. And _why_ was Enma calling him a friend when Tsuna was just a bunny? It didn't make sense.

Enma bumped Tsuna's shoulder with his own. "We look out for each other. At least, when it comes from our no good selves or things outside your guardians. Because if you have to break up Hibari and Mukuro again, I'm just telling you now, you are definitely on your own."

To Tsuna's amazement, he found himself laughing at that, Enma's lips quirking up slightly at the sound.

A knock on the door quickly killed the easy air, and Tsuna found himself wanting to smother himself in the bedcovers again. One look at Enma let Tsuna assure himself that he wasn't the only tense one.

"Come in," Tsuna called out, braver than he felt on the inside. His stomach was doing backflips, but his voice only wavered the tiniest bit, so that had to count for something. The door slid open with an almost inaudible hiss.

Mouth dropping open, Tsuna felt his breathing stop.

"Mom?"

Nana was standing in the door, a sheepish smile on her face, her eyes glowing with a warmth that Tsuna wasn't sure he had really seen in years. Not since before he…before. When Iemitsu stayed home for more than a week. When Tsuna had been more than a clumsy failure in school and at home. When Tsuna didn't go home every single day with new scrapes littering his hands and arms.

"Is it alright if I interrupt, Enma-kun?" Nana asked, her smile patient and bright.

Enma nodded stiffly, standing up from the bed. Tsuna hurried to follow his example, because, besides the slightly longer hair, his mother looked almost exactly like she did in his time, and Tsuna's heart was suddenly wailing in agony.

Tapping Tsuna on the shoulder, Enma shot him an understanding smile. "We'll talk later." Tsuna just nodded after him, his mind pretty far from their potential conversation. Nana waved to him as Enma walked out, only stopping to give Nana a hesitant smile.

Finally, when the door was closed, Tsuna let himself stare at his mother, something settling heavy in his stomach and tightening in his chest.

"Mom," he croaked out again, this time taking a step toward her.

Nana smiled and held out her arms. The sudden urge to run to his mother and collapse into her embrace overwhelmed him in that moment. He just wanted to let everything out. All the frustration, fear, helplessness. He was tired of all this piling atop his small shoulders.

"Tsu-kun," his mother whispered, and Tsuna wanted to melt at the name he felt he hadn't heard in weeks. "Mama's hear, sweetie."

He couldn't take it anymore. He was tired, exhausted from all the problems and wars and fighting that kept coming at him and _wouldn't stop_. He ran to his mom and threw his arms around her, tightening them as she wrapped her own around him and pulled him closer. Tsuna felt a sob threaten to crawl up his throat and escape, but he held it back. He didn't want to put that kind of pressure on his mother.

"Oh, Tsuna." Nana rubbed his back soothingly, rocking him back and forth as best she could in their position. "It's okay to cry, you know. I'm always here for you."

Tsuna's lip trembled violently and his eyes scrunched up in an attempt to hold back the tears that were already spilling down his cheeks as he buried his face in her shoulder, chest heaving with silent sobs. They stayed that way for several minutes.

His mother was the first to break the silence after his sobs died down—because of course she was. She had always been so brave, so strong, even when Tsuna broke down and Iemitsu didn't come back, his mother stayed the strongest of them all, enduring the pain and taking on her boys' own.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do I…have to?"

"Of course not, Tsuna." Nana ran her fingers through his spiky brown locks soothingly. "I will never ask you to do something you aren't ready to. If you don't want to talk, we can just stay like this for as long as you want."

Tsuna sniffled. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered. "Thank you so, so, _so_ much, Mom. I love you. I've missed you." He pulled himself closer to her comfort, not hugging hard enough to hurt, but enough to feel her warmth surround him. It wasn't until then that he realized he was shaking uncontrollably and Nana was making soft, comforting noises.

"I missed you, too, Tsu-kun," his mother murmured softly. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

They stayed like that for hours.

* * *

"I'm assigning you a mission," Reborn snapped. "After an assessment during today's training, you'll have a full day to rest up before you'll go out with one of the Guardians on an assignment. Depending on how you do, I'll assign you a mission that I think you will be able to handle."

Tsuna blinked owlishly down at the folder that had been shoved into his hands. Comprehending Reborn's words was turning into an arduous task his brain just wasn't up to right now. The cogs were stuttering and nothing was really sinking in.

"Mission?" Tsuna echoed. "I'm getting a mission?"

Iemitsu grimaced from where he was leaning against the desk. "In a sense, you are. But first we need to do an assessment to figure out where your strength is. We'll do that after lunch."

Tsuna stared at his father. Less than a week into his impromptu trip into the future and he was being flung into the next fight again. Of course it didn't matter how ready he was. Just like last time, it seemed like. At least they were testing him to see what he could handle this time.

Next to him, Gokudera was frowning and Yamamoto was glancing at him worriedly. Tsuna didn't know why they were looking at him like that, but he wasn't too concerned. Worried more about collapsing, really. It had only been yesterday that he'd almost been strangled to death.

"Can't I rest a bit before I do the assessment?" Tsuna asked.

Iemitsu nodded. "That's why we're doing it after lunch. It'll give you a couple more hours to rest after yesterday's attack."

"With the information the elders gave us, we can't afford to delay much longer," Reborn told him, a blank expression plastered on his face. Tsuna knew Reborn enough to see the irritation present in his eyes, though, but he couldn't quite figure out what Reborn was irritated about. "Don't be late."

Tsuna nodded, wishing desperately for his life to send him something that _wasn't_ going to make him completely miserable. An assessment his ass. This was a giant test, one he couldn't afford to fail, lest he be scorned by Reborn—and seriously. What was Reborn's _problem?_ Why was this happening all of a sudden?

He didn't voice his inner turmoil, though. Even if it was probably written all over his face. Instead, he just said, "I won't." And then he walked out of the room, his limbs trembling, not even daring to look back. Because this was going to be _awful_.

* * *

The herbivore ducked another punch, but he wasn't fast enough to use his pivot foot and push himself backwards, away from Kyouya's oncoming strike. The prefect did, however, feel a slight flutter of impression when the herbivore, too slow to move backwards, let his legs buckle to duck under Kyouya's tonfa. Once he had successfully cleared that obstacle, the flutter turned more agitated as the boy _got away_.

The herbivore was getting smarter, Kyouya noted, watching with narrowed eyes as the boy who would one day become a man struggled to his feet, tremors of exhaustion starting to affect his stance. It had not even been two hours, and the herbivore was already tiring. An effect of the previous day, no doubt.

"Alright, that's enough of that," the tall carnivore with the curly sideburns called out, his countenance calm, but fury stewing in his eyes. Even Kyouya knew not to aggravate this carnivore when stirred to anger. "Tsuna," he continued, turning onyx eyes to meet brown, "I want you to try Hyper mode. See how long you can hold it. The first day you were here you only held it for about a minute."

"I held it for at least three yesterday," the herbivore complained. "And besides, why do I have to do this stupid test? I held my own."

Kyouya switched his gray eyes to stare into the herbivore's. He hated how irritated he was becoming by the switch of personality when the herbivore had so much more potential than he was giving himself credit for.

"Herbivore," Kyouya said, the word twisting oddly in his mouth as he addressed the brown haired mafia boss. Both tonfa lit up in a purple haze of Cloud Flame as he stared the boy down. "Prepare yourself."

And with a leap, Kyouya rushed towards the herbivore, barely giving him time to scramble with his pills and gloves and enter his Hyper Dying Will Mode.

* * *

"Pathetic." Reborn.

"Hey, he tried his best, didn't he?" Yamamoto.

"I expected much more from you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Did you even try?" Mukuro.

"Good job, boss." Chrome. Bless her.

"Tsuna-_nii_. You barely lasted five minutes with the ring on your hand." Lambo.

"EXTREMELY OKAY JOB, SAWADA!" Ryohei.

"You have a long way to go, herbivore." Even Hibari.

The only one who didn't say anything was Gokudera, and his eyes spoke volumes more than words ever could. Not embarrassed…but maybe, disappointed? Ashamed of him? It was something to that extent, and Tsuna didn't really like seeing it there.

He kept his head down, the feeling of uselessness already too deeply ingrained to care about failing the assessment. Well, he didn't exactly fail, since he wasn't sure what would make him fail, but after his flame had sputtered out barely five minutes into the fight, the look in Reborn's eyes constituted as a big fat zero in Tsuna's book. He didn't manage to get far enough to reach Reborn's expectation's, but what else was new.

* * *

It was hours later when Tsuna decided he couldn't sleep. Since tossing and turning wasn't doing him any good, he figured he might as well try to tire himself out to exhaustion. Flipping off his blankets, Tsuna dragged his sore body out of bed and into the elevator, wearily hitting the button for the seventeenth floor. Might as well get some training in in order to prepare himself for whatever Reborn had ready for him tomorrow.

He shivered when he walked into the empty training room. It was eerie in a way Tsuna knew only his guardians could appreciate. Silence reigned and each step of his echoed in the space. He shivered once he reached the middle of the room, gazing around at his surroundings

Cautiously, he took his gloves from his sweatpants pocket and pulled them on, the Vongola ring a heavy weight on his finger. The pills were next. Tsuna swallowed them with barely a second thought. He entered Hyper mode and let his mind focus on nothing but the hum of his inner flame.

There was something there, something he couldn't quite grasp with his flimsy control of the original Vongola ring. Something in his flame was calling to him, but at the same time pushing him away. The first couple times Tsuna had entered Hyper mode, he hadn't noticed it, but during the assessment earlier, there had been an unnatural flicker to his own flame that he couldn't quite place.

Looking at the flame proved to be futile. It looked just as orange and fire-like as usual, but that didn't mean there wasn't something different. Was this irregularity because of the release of the Vongola ring? If so, then why hadn't he noticed it before?

There was another possibility he was entertaining, though. What if the irregularity had been caused by the attacker from the day before? As scared as he had been, the attacker could have subtly done something to him and his intuition could have missed it.

"Operation X."

"_Roger that, boss. Initiating X-Burner firing sequence."_

Tsuna took a deep, steadying breath. Emotions were hard to deal with. He had acknowledged that back way back when he first started school. When he had first acknowledged that everyone was always going to see him as Dame-Tsuna.

But that didn't mean he was alone. He had support now. He had friends, a teacher, a guide, people to help him out when the going got tough. And it was tough. But now, he didn't only have his friends. He had himself. He was strong enough, confident enough, that he could understand he wasn't anywhere near alone anymore. He had people, and that was more than some could say.

He raised his arms, the crystal with the Vongola insignia glowing as he released a torrent of soft flames behind him. He let the pressure build to 300,000 fiamma volts. Once satisfied with the soft flames, he let the crystal glow on his left hand, the pressure increasing to match the other.

"_Pressure in left burner at 300,000 FV. Gage symmetry. Standby for launch."_

"X-Burner."

And Tsuna released the flames, and with it, his heavy heart. Because he wasn't alone and he didn't have to be. He just needed a reminder every once in a while.

* * *

Miles away, two years prior, a baby hitman smirked as two young mechanics finished their project. It was only a matter of time before they managed to accomplish their goal.

_Hang in there, Tsuna. I'm coming to get you._

* * *

**So a short one (ish. I mean it's shortest chapter in this story so far) but a necessary one. It's setting up for future events (which I have like half way written here and there up til chapter 23 i believe) that will lead into the main plot. I think we're almost halfway through this story, so hang onto your hats. Things are gonna pick up from here.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I don't think I replied to you personally, so I apologize. I just have so much going on. Still, thanks for the support and thanks for hanging on while I slowly update this thing.**

**Another thing, I apparently missed the date, but it's been over a year since I started this monster. I think I originally planned like 20 chapters for this and it's turned into double that size, so...yeah. I guess here's to more updating in the summer! I'll be on vacation a lot but I'm hoping I'll get more chances to update.**

**Thanks again!**


	17. Chapter 17

**So, it's like a week later than I promised, but I did try my best. This chapter was rewritten at least four times. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Where exactly are we going?" Tsuna asked.

It wasn't that Tsuna was uncomfortable that he had been put in charge of Lambo, Fuuta, and I-pin. No, the thing that made him uncomfortable was that he really had no idea what was happening on this mission other than flying to a secure location, picking up supplies, and flying back to the base. "Cut and dry," were Reborn's exact words. Tsuna would agree with him, if it weren't for the fact that they had to avoid detection in the noisiest helicopter ever invented.

Fuuta shrugged. "Reborn doesn't usually tell anyone where he programmed the helicopter to fly. Especially not us."

Tsuna just stared, not really getting it. "What do you mean he doesn't tell anyone- Wait! Are you saying that this thing is on autopilot?! Is that even safe?!"

"Who cares?" Lambo yelled out, a smirk on his face and a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. "This is the most fun Tsuna and Reborn have let me have in months!"

I-pin frowned, but instead of berating the cow-child like Tsuna was expecting, she turned her dark eyes on Tsuna. "Are you alright, Tsuna-san? I've heard about your past couple days. It doesn't seem fair that they sent you out on a mission right away."

Staring at the young girl was something that really wished he could help, because he wasn't sure this girl was really only—what? Seven? Eight? How had she matured so much in just two years? Her braids, barely reaching her shoulders, were too reminiscent of her fifteen year old future self. She looked and acted so differently from what he was used to, Tsuna was at a loss for words.

Unfortunately, the silence only caused her brow to furrow further, catching both Fuuta's and Lambo's attention. "Tsuna-san?"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Tsuna stuttered out an apology. "S-Sorry. I'm fine. Just…haven't seen you three together like this in a while."

Fuuta laughed softly. "Tsuna-nii, stop spacing out so much. You're turning into a reminiscent old man."

Lambo cackled. "What does that make you, Fuuta? You space out all the time. Especially when you're ranking something!"

The two boys continued to bicker while I-pin watched them almost fondly. Tsuna wished he could mirror the young girl's actions, but the nerves fluttering around in his stomach just wouldn't let him. He had a bad feeling about this supply run.

It was when they were ducking behind the crates, escaping gunshots that Tsuna, as he crouched next to Lambo, wished that he had listened to that funny feeling of his that had told him something wasn't right. Sometimes it seemed no matter how many times his intuition proved to be right, Tsuna was still unconsciously too hesitant about trusting it.

They had landed safe, and _noisily_. Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin were clearly unconcerned with the way they were laughing and joking and altogether not paying attention to their surroundings. Waiting for them outside on the helicopter pad in the middle of nowhere, was a young man—a kid, almost, maybe only a couple years older than Tsuna himself. He greeted them with a smile, gestured to the four crates full of supplies for the base for the next few days that sat behind him. The guy held out a hand as soon as Tsuna made his way out of the flying death trap.

"Decimo," the man greeted warmly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Tsuna smiled hesitantly, nervously reaching for the man's raised hand to grasp. Europe was strange, he decided right then and there as their hands shook. Weird customs. Weird feelings, too, apparently. It niggled in his gut, the sense of wrongness, as Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin climbed out behind him and greeted the man just as brightly and warmly as he had greeted Tsuna just seconds ago.

"Armino-san!" Fuuta called out, waving an enthusiastic hand above his head. Lambo and I-pin followed suit, all three of them running over to the man before Tsuna could stop them. Despite his fear, though, this Armino man did nothing to them, and did nothing to prove Tsuna's irrational fear that something _somewhere_ was wrong with this whole situation. He just couldn't pinpoint it.

"Hello, Fuuta," Armino said, warmth still in his voice. "How are all of you doing?"

"The ride over here was so boring," Lambo complained, despite the fact that Lambo had not grumbled once during the entire two hour trip. "It took forever! And all Tsuna did was space out the whole time!"

Tsuna sighed, his shoulders dropping. And he had thought Lambo had gotten more mature? It looked like the only thing he'd gotten was more observant. "I wasn't spacing out, Lambo."

Fuuta giggled. "You were a little bit, Tsuna-nii."

An eyebrow rose and Armino seemed to be looking at Tsuna in an entirely new light. Tsuna fidgeted uncomfortably when he caught the man's gray-eyed gaze.

"Tsuna-nii?" he asked, puzzlement flashing across his face as he struggled to place the suffix. "Is that a title?"

"Uh, no. Fuuta's my little-"

"What was that?"

All three turned to I-pin. Her back was turned to them, arms slightly raised in a defensive stance, standing on the balls of her feet. Tsuna's bad feeling intensified, and he impulsively grabbed Fuuta and Lambo by the backs of their shirts and pulled them behind him, and more importantly _away_ from Armino.

Lambo protested a loud "_Tsuna!"_, but Fuuta stayed silent, seemingly picking up on Tsuna's serious and cautious manner. Tsuna looked Armino up and down, and the man only had an apologetic smile on his face.

Stomach sinking down to his toes, the brunet asked, "It's a trap, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Armino said, _sounding_ apologetic. "I was only looking for ransom money. I was going to at least nab one of the children and send a ransom note. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And what changed?" Tsuna asked, barely breathing, heart pounding in his ears. "You're not looking for a ransom note anymore, and it's not just because I'm here. I'm right, aren't I?"

Lambo blinked in shock and Tsuna's heart broke a little. "But- I thought you were our friend!"

A hand clenched down on Lambo's shoulder, and Lambo jolted around to face a miserable looking Fuuta. Fuuta just shook his head. Lambo's shoulders slumped and he, for once, stayed where he was and let Tsuna take the attention.

Armino shrugged. "The Argine found out that I'm a Vongola supplier."

"Did they threaten you?"

"They didn't need to," Argine said, his eyes suddenly hardening. "They're paying me more than I could ask from the Vongola. I have enough to finally pay those debts I owe and get out of this hellish country."

"So you're doing it for money?" Fuuta asked quietly. "You're going to sacrifice my family's lives because you need the money?"

The worst part about Fuuta's question was that he didn't sound angry at all. Just sad, and a little betrayed. But more resigned than anything. Like he knew that the path Armino had chosen had been inevitable. But thinking about Fuuta's ranking powers, Tsuna thought he might have already guessed and chosen to befriend the man anyway, hoping that it wouldn't come down to betrayal in the end.

"Don't get me wrong," Armino said, his expression darkening, "I'm really hoping you get out of this one. But I need that money. Too many debts have piled up on top of each other and I can't-"

A gunshot rang out and Armino was dead with a bullet hole in his forehead before he could even hit the ground. Tsuna closed his eyes as he turned away from the scene, only opening them when he had his back to the man. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that Lambo was screaming obscenities for the world to hear, but he didn't acknowledge them. He just kept his attention on the biggest threat in the vicinity. The one who was only ten feet away from I-pin, holding a smoking gun.

The man, dressed in an impeccably clean suit, smirked. He pulled his sun glasses away from his face to reveal squinty, dull brown eyes set deep in his olive face.

"Decimo," the man greeted smugly, his eyes flitting over the three kids. "And the Decimo's family. And here I was under the impression that the Decimo refused to let the kids out of their secret hiding base. Yet, here they are."

He was mocking them. Lambo's shoulders shook and I-pin was impossibly still, and the corners of Fuuta's lips were pulled into a frown. And Tsuna. Tsuna was feeling something, too. He was blank, a little bit numb. And seriously regretting not listening to his funny feeling earlier.

The smirking man smirked even wider, somehow, raised a palm in the air, and his eyes developed a sort of manic glint. "Get 'em."

And that's how Tsuna found himself tugging Lambo behind the crates, Fuuta and I-pin following behind him quickly while Lambo struggled in his grasp.

"Lemme go!" Lambo screamed, scrabbling one-handed at Tsuna's tight grip on his wrist. "Let me go, Tsuna! I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna fry him and then blast him to pieces!"

Tsuna ignored him, breath coming slightly faster than normal. His pulse was racing. He realized what was going on, but for some reason, he was blanking on what he should. Too many days being bossed around by an adult Reborn, probably, Tsuna thought idly.

He was too used to Reborn being his safety net, and to accentuate his weakness, Reborn had decided to throw him into the field. He was supposed to lead these three _kids_. Him, a _kid_, was supposed to lead three more kids into battle against a dozen Mafioso. Somehow. It was his job to make sure Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin made it out of this alive. And getting those supplies would probably be a nice bonus, but they weren't really a priority at this point.

"Come out here and face me, coward!"

"Tsuna-nii?" Tsuna focused his gaze on Fuuta, who was reaching out a hesitant hand out towards him. "Tsuna-nii, the Argine-"

Right. They weren't in the clear just yet, and eventually, the Argine would come around the other side of the crates and execute them all. They needed a plan. Tsuna's gaze wandered to I-pin, probably their best fighter right now. A sinking feeling and something tightening in his throat stopped Tsuna for about two seconds before his mind rebelled and forced the plan into action. Tsuna felt his mouth moving and heard his voice before he could really realize that it was _him_ speaking.

"I-pin," Tsuna murmured, calling her attention to him. For some reason Lambo was still clawing at him, yelling at him. "Do you think you and Lambo can get one of the crates to the helicopter?"

"Are you _crazy?!_" Lambo hissed as he stilled, his mouth wide open as he looked at Tsuna in horror. "You want us to risk our lives over supplies that we probably don't even _need_, because we live with Hibari _Kyouya_ and that maniac probably stocked the entire base for _months_!"

Tsuna licked his lips. He had a plan, but he needed all four of them if it was going to work. But, if they didn't want to take part in it, then Tsuna wouldn't force them. His plan was crazy dangerous, and while he was going to be putting himself at the most risk, he couldn't blame them for not wanting take part in Dame-Tsuna's plan. The confidence just wasn't there. He wasn't even sure if his plan was actually going to work or if they were all going to die because he couldn't get his ass in gear and save his family.

If he could alter the plan somehow to make it so he would be the only one at risk—

"If Lambo doesn't want to do it, I will," Fuuta said suddenly. "I can fight if I have to."

The yells of the enemy were getting louder. They only had minutes, maybe seconds, left. Tsuna wasn't actually sure why they hadn't attacked already. They sure were vulnerable enough. And if Fuuta went out there, Tsuna wasn't sure that the kid would come out of this alive.

"Fuuta." Tsuna's voice cracked and a pained expression crossed his face. "Fuuta, if anyone goes out there, then it's me. I'll protect you guys so you don't have to fight."

"But you were going to send me and I-pin _by ourselves-_"

Tsuna crushed Lambo to his chest. The brunet felt heavy, but at the same time light as air. Like he was floating. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't do that just yet. These kids were looking up to him. They wanted him to lead them, to get them out of this situation. Tsuna had to be strong.

"I want you to throw a grenade at them," Tsuna said, and his voice didn't break. "Then the two of you will take a crate over to the helicopter. It'll be our cover so we can jump into the helicopter. While you guys carry the crate, I'll distract them, and try to bait them away from the helicopter long enough for you guys to get it over there."

"What about me?" Fuuta asked. "Do I need to fight?"

Tsuna swallowed dryly. "I need you to be my eyes, Fuuta," he told the nervous kid. "Once I-pin and Lambo get the crate over there, Lambo's going to throw another grenade and you are going to rush around the smoke and into the helicopter. I think you're the only one who can get the thing going."

I-pin's lip trembled, horror crossing her face. "But if Lambo throws the grenade when you're fighting-"

"I'll be fine," Tsuna reassure her, hoping that he was telling the truth and that this crazy plan wasn't going to go wrong like his whole life seemed to. "I can probably fly away before he manages to make anything explode."

All three kids seemed to let out their breaths collectively at this realization. Tsuna smiled softly at them, taking a second to look over his family. They would make it out of this alive. He could figure this out. He just had to think.

The plan was far from sound, and based off a lot of luck and things going right from the start. But they could adapt. Change things as they went.

Tsuna pulled out his pills and gloves, quickly accessing Dying Will Mode. The orange flame lit up his forehead and Tsuna felt the almost immediate pull of the original Vongola Ring around his neck. Ignoring it for now, Tsuna nodded his head at Lambo, signaling for the cow-like child to get ready. The enemy's voices grew ever closer and Tsuna took a deep breath.

He stood and hopped over the crate, surprising his three companions with his actions.

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Tsuna-san!"

The Argine enemy and his lackeys looked over to him, surprised. They hadn't really moved other than to check over Armino's dead body. Tsuna tried not to think much about that and settled his focus on the man who was clearly the leader of the group.

The man smirked. "Well, Decimo. Come to face me after all?"

Tsuna said nothing, hyper aware of the faces of his companions peeking out from behind the crates. He kept his gaze trained on the biggest threat as the man stalked back and forth in front of him. He wasn't sure whether to feel terrified or annoyed, but the wave of calm that was his will kept him from doing anything stupid.

"What?" The man taunted, his arms open wide, inviting Tsuna to say something. "Don't have anything to say to me, Decimo? Nothing at all?"

"Why didn't you attack?" Tsuna finally asked after a beat of silence. "You had an opportunity to kill us, but you didn't. Why?"

The man sneered. "It would have a waste. We're supposed to capture you alive, if possible. Killing you would serve no purpose and would probably set us back too far."

Stiffening in surprise, Tsuna stared at the man. _They wanted him alive? _Well that was definitely…new. He hadn't been expecting that, but for now, it could work to his advantage. His mind racing, he finally came to a decision. He would ignore the information while it wasn't the most important thing he had to deal with and think about it later. Priorities, after all.

"Now, Lambo."

The grenade went over Tsuna's head and settled at the smirking man's feet. It took all of three seconds before the grenade went off and everything went to hell.

From the corner of his eye, Tsuna could see that I-pin and Lambo had taken off, and for some reason, Fuuta had gone with them. Oh well. It didn't matter at this point. The faster they got the helicopter up and running, the faster they got the hell out of there. I-pin and Lambo settled the crate just as the smoke from the explosion started to dissipate, all three of them ducking behind it as the Mafioso became more and more visible.

It had worked, and they were all lucky the Argine didn't react to the grenade as fast as they should have.

Wasting no more time dawdling, Tsuna jumped into the fray of Argine lackeys, striking as many as he could down before they could get their bearings and lift their guns. He had about half them unconscious on the ground before they started to get smart. Shooting at him wasn't the best idea, though, since he wasn't the easiest to hit.

He took to the air, using the flames from his gloves to hover above the ground and dodge the gunfire the best he could. He was doing great, a little breathless from the power drain, but nothing he couldn't deal with.

A bullet soared straight at him, and Tsuna ducked, cutting off the flames in his gloves. Dropping to the ground and rolling with his momentum left the world spinning for no more than a few moments, but it was enough for him to completely miss the sword coming towards until it was almost too late.

"Tsuna-nii!" he heard Fuuta call from somewhere to his left. "Watch out!"

About to roll out of the way, Tsuna glanced up. Only to freeze in horror as Lambo tackled the man that had swung at him. Tsuna rose to his feet quickly, his flame stuttering as orange eyes took in the scene before him. Lambo had his horns plastered to his head, electricity sparking from them and the man dead in front of the kid.

At the moment, though, another enemy got up behind Lambo, swiping a knife at him. Tsuna dove forward and tackled the child he thought of as a little brother to the ground. The knife passed centimeters above Tsuna's head. Gunshots sounded and Tsuna kept rolling, covering Lambo to the best of his ability. When he stopped, he was breathless and the world was spinning.

"TSUNA! LAMBO! _RUN!_"

Tsuna, unable to gain his bearings, let out a strangled yell, putting in almost all of his remaining energy into his flame and just _pushing_, until his flame had nowhere to go but _out_. From around him, Tsuna heard screams, but he couldn't see what had happened. He assumed it had something with the major energy drain that he was suddenly dealing with.

His eyelids drooped sleepily. He forced them open enough to check his surroundings, pulling Lambo up with him into a sitting position to find that every enemy Mafioso was on the ground groaning except for the smirking Argine man. Who wasn't really smirking anymore. It was more of a scowl, really, coupled with a glare. Tsuna wondered if it was because Tsuna had done something he hadn't expected—don't something nobody had really expected, really—or because his stupid suit was ruined, peppered with holes from the explosions.

The helicopter blades started up from behind Tsuna, but the brunet couldn't really make himself move. The remaining enemy didn't move, either. They just continued their odd staring contest. Lambo looked back and forth between the two, like he couldn't exactly figure out what was going on.

"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta yelled. "Lambo! Let's go!"

"This isn't over, Decimo," the man growled. He dusted off his suit like it would do something for him, and hardened his glare into something blacker, darker. "I'll get you soon, just you wait. And you'll regret the day you ever tried to cross paths with the Argine."

Anger bubbled up for some reason. Irrational, and completely spontaneous, but Tsuna couldn't understand any of this. This whole war didn't seem to make sense half the time. They were basically fighting over nothing. The Argine were fighting the Vongola while someone from the Vongola used them and exploited them to take over the underworld. The Vongola were running for their lives because two men declared war for their greed and grief.

"What do you _want_ from me?!" Tsuna screamed, tightening his hold on his little brother. "What the hell did I _ever_ do to you?!"

The man didn't answer. And Tsuna couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly seemed so sad as he gazed down at Tsuna's shaking, upset form.

"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta was beside him, helping him to his feet, I-pni rushing to Lambo's side just as quick. Lambo shook her off irritably and the four made their way to helicopter. The man didn't move, didn't meet Tsuna's eyes when the brunet looked at him. Just watched as they climbed into the helicopter and took off.

When the helicopter landed, settling down on the helipad in the side of the mountain, the effects of whatever he had done had somewhat worn off. At least, he didn't feel the need to drift off every time he blinked, and despite the exhaustion he still felt, Tsuna counted that as a win.

What he wasn't expecting, though, was the loss of his ability to walk. Somehow he had used so much energy that his legs were shaking too much to fully support his weight. Fuuta ended up helping him off the helicopter.

"You okay, Tsuna-nii?" Fuuta asked, his brow furrowing as he kept Tsuna on his feet. Lambo and I-pin trailed after them, both abnormally quiet.

"I'll be fine," Tsuna croaked. "I just need a nice nap, I think."

"What happened to you?" I-pin spoke up.

She looked nervous, wringing her hands and looking Tsuna up and down. Next to her, Lambo was fidgeting and refusing to meet Tsuna's eyes, and he couldn't help but wonder what was happening to the four of them. They were sort of falling apart at the seams. Even Fuuta looked unusually rattled.

"Didn't you see?"

Two out of three shook their heads, and Tsuna wasn't sure whether to be upset or relieved that they hadn't seen his outburst. He had lost control of his flame. It had felt like an eruption inside him, so strong that it couldn't even be contained within him. It had pushed against his skin and _exploded_ out of him, taking everyone close to him to the ground in seconds.

He'd lost _control_. And he didn't even know how.

"I saw all of those men surround you and Lambo," Fuuta admitted hesitantly, "but then I closed my eyes when I thought they were going to shoot you."

Tsuna sighed. "I don't really know. I just…it kind of was like a boost in power and then everyone was down. It was…I don't even know. It was like nothing I ever felt before."

They made it to the elevator and Tsuna was suddenly more tired than he'd ever felt before. It was like he was a gas tank running on empty. He needed to get to a bed soon or he would crash the moment he couldn't keep his eyes open. And based on how hard it was to keep them from staying closed after blinking, that moment was almost upon them.

Fuuta was speaking again. "We need to find-"

The elevator opened. Tsuna came face to face with Yamamoto, and he was so relieved, he pushed himself away from Fuuta and towards the baseball player. Yamamoto just blinked in surprise, reflexively catching Tsuna from falling on his face when his knees buckled and his legs gave up on supporting him any longer.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto called, wrapping an arm around the brunet's waist and pulling an arm over his shoulder. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"So…tired…." Tsuna murmured, eyes sliding closed despite his efforts to keep them open.

"Fuuta? What's going on? Is he okay?"

"He did something with his flame that made him…."

Tsuna was fast asleep before Fuuta could even finish his sentence.

* * *

**This was a hard chapter to write. I'm not sure if it was because it was mostly action or what, but it took forever and a day. I hope you all enjoyed it. I should have the next chapter out in two weeks or so. I do have a schedule on my profile if you want to pop over there and check it out. And if you guys have questions or want to chat, my tumblr's wide open (**_hometothesky_**). Thanks for all of the support!**

**Reviews:**

**Two-Stomach: **Thanks :) The interesting dynamics between the characters are what made me fall for the show in the first place, so I always try to get them just right in my fics. I'm glad I did it justice. Thanks for reviewing!

**Tsuna lover: **This whole situation is odd for everyone, and those from the future aren't exactly sure how to treat Tsuna as if he's just Tsuna. They see him differently, just as Tsuna sees them differently. But, people are trying and there are a few people who are getting closer to figuring out the situation. Thanks for the review. It was nice to hear what you thought :)

**Athenacelyn: **Oh god. Now I feel sort of bad. Hopefully you did well on your exams! And here's your update! Tbh, 2YL!Tsuna is one of my favorites, too. The future characters are fun (and completely heart-breaking) to create a story for. There's just so much there to use. The dynamics are my favorite part in the world. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thanks for your review!


	18. Chapter 18

**So I graduated on Friday and had family in town for the past couple days. I haven't had a lot of time to finish this and edit it. It could probably do with one or two more rounds of editing if I'm being honest, but I'm pretty worn out. I lost my scholarship the other day due to medical issues I dealt with earlier this year and barely managed to pass one class so I could graduate. It's been pretty rough and I have to figure out my financial situation now. So updates might be a little sparse.**

**However, saying that, writing this is kind of like a safe haven for me, so if things get pretty bad, you could see a lot more updates.**

**Thanks for the reviews! There were a couple questions that I'd like to address right now, though.**

**_What's the deal with the Hibari's name in earlier chapters?_**

**\- That comes up in a few chapters, actually. I had this planned for a while, and that question never really got answered, pushed aside for bigger problems. It _does_ get addressed soon, though, so if that's something you're super worried about, please be patient.**

**_Why is Tsuna breaking down so much?_**

**\- Tsuna's scared. He's just a kid who is used to dealing with things with his friends and family and most importantly _Reborn_ by his side. Plus, he's being totally blind-sided by half the people in the future that every time he thinks he's built his tentative up enough, a bulldozer crashes through and sends his world collapsing on top of him again. He doesn't know how to deal with anything, and the person he's used to turning for help _isn't there anymore._ He's just a scared kid trying to survive mentally, physically, and emotionally without anything he knows.**

_**Why is Reborn such a jerk?**_

**\- In upcoming chapters, there's actually going to be a confrontation between Reborn and Tsuna (and someone else) about this subject, so I'm not really going to say much more. Just know that there's a reason beyond "He isn't the student I need to fix and it's my responsibility." Though, that is a part of it.**

_**Why are the guardians in the future pushing Tsuna away?**_

**\- Okay, I've answered this one before, but I'll say again a little bit clearer. Despite being two years older, they're still teenagers, and their in the middle of a war. Without their leader. They're not handling it well, sure, but they are trying to not push their feelings onto Tsuna for taking the place of _their_ Tsuna. Yamamoto is the one who is handling it best, Gokudera the worst, but they are trying, even if it doesn't seem like it. They do understand somewhat that hating Tsuna for just being there is wrong, so they decided to push him away instead (*cough* Gokudera *****cough*****).**

_**Why is Argine starting a war over such a small reason?**_

_**\- **_**That actually comes up this chapter.**

**If you guys have any other questions, you're welcome to review (and I'll get to them by the time I post the next chapter) or you can ask on my tumblr (**_hometothesky) _**where I'll happily answer any questions you have. I also do take requests if you're looking for a short fic or a drabble. I find writing them relaxes me, so if you're interested, you're welcome to stop by.**

**Sorry for the loooong AN, and thanks for bearing with me for 18 chapters guys. I'm pretty sure we've hit about the halfway mark :)**

* * *

Tsuna kept Lambo out of strategy talk. That was a fact accepted by almost everyone in the base. Lambo, despite being a guardian, despite being one of Tsuna's most trusted allies, was thought of as too young and too immature.

And then, only a few days before the mission Tsuna finally promised to take him, I-pin, and Fuuta on together, he disappeared, leaving a younger, less experienced, more terrified Tsuna in his place. Lambo missed his own Tsuna, of course, but he generally liked this new Tsuna. It was like getting a look into Tsuna's past that had been generally covered up after the disaster of an Inheritance Ceremony.

And he thought things had been going pretty well. Until he found out that the other Tsuna was going to be accompanying—_leading, _Reborn had said, as if—the mission his brother had promised to take him on before this whole mess happened.

Lambo tried not to let that get him down, he even forgot about it for a little bit.

He felt like absolute crap about the whole thing, really. Tsuna had tried to save them, and not in the way that Lambo had really expected. He'd frozen, looked downright terrified, went to head with a dozen Argine _by himself_, and saved Lambo by _exploding_. And all Lambo had done was yell at him.

And then things came full circle. Tsuna was unconscious and Gokudera and Yamamoto were keeping him out of the infirmary for the time being, even though Fuuta was allowed to go in. It was unfair. Tsuna was like his _brother_, so why was he always left out of the important things?

"Lambo?"

He scrunched up his nose when he heard Fuuta call out to him. He didn't feel like talking, 'cause Fuuta would just try to lecture him about his reckless actions again, and that was something Lambo really hated.

When Fuuta didn't get a response from Lambo, he plopped himself down, right next to Lambo like he was invited to this one man pity party. Lambo scooted away as much as he could in the cramped space, but there really wasn't much room in the dormant helicopter.

No one said anything for a long time, and Lambo felt his irritation bubble up inside him. "What."

"Are you okay?"

Lambo sat up straighter, shooting Fuuta a bewildered look. Well, he hadn't been expecting that. A lecture, probably, maybe even a disappointed look from the older kid, but that question definitely threw him for a loop. "Am _I_ okay?" he asked, eyes wide. "_Tsuna_ was the one who exploded! Shouldn't you be more worried for him?!"

Fuuta's eyes were alight with laughter, and Lambo just couldn't figure out what was so _funny_. Lambo felt so horrible inside, so guilty for putting Tsuna in that position. Like something was biting at his heartstrings, trying its best to destroy him from the inside out. _Lambo_ was the one who put Tsuna through that. So why was Fuuta _laughing_?

"_What's so funny?!"_

Lips thinning just slightly, amusement dimming, Fuuta shook his head. "Nothing. It's just, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Reborn heard what happened and he says that Tsuna just released too much of his flame at once, and it caused a backlash."

"You didn't see him," Lambo bit out, green eyes flashing. "And stupid Tsuna was lying about that being a boost of power. It was like…like…Agh!" He struggled to find any words to describe the sheer terror he'd seen in Tsuna's wild eyes and the result of that terror. "It's like Tsuna got so scared, his flames didn't know what to do! They just attacked anything and everything in sight!"

Fuuta's eyebrows furrowed, his mouth slack. "What does that mean? How can flames get scared?"

"I don't know! They just can!"

"No, Lambo," Fuuta said, shaking his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Tsuna's never lost control like that before. His Hyper Dying Will Mode should regulate his flames enough to keep him from losing control of his power. Reborn says that the Original Ring is just too much for Tsuna to handle at this point, even with it around his neck. He just gets tired easily."

Fuuta thought _Lambo_ wasn't making any sense? _Fuuta _was the one not making sense. Lambo was eight years old and he understood a lot more than people thought he did. He was smarter than people thought—too many trips to the future would do that to you—but nothing Fuuta as saying was adding up.

That wasn't some boost in power. Tsuna had lost control or something because he'd been scared, and _Lambo_ had been the cause. And now everyone was trying to play this off like Tsuna was just too weak for the Original Vongola Ring when that _clearly_ wasn't the problem. The problem was Lambo, so why didn't anybody else see that?

"Shut up, Fuuta!" Lambo yelled, standing up abruptly. Fuuta was staring at him, bewildered, and Lambo couldn't help as his fists clenched at his sides. "You always think that Reborn knows everything! But he doesn't!"

"What are you even talking about?" Fuuta asked, looking more than a little shocked at Lambo's outburst.

"I know what I saw!" Lambo continued, like Fuuta wasn't even there. "And- and- I don't get why no one ever listens to me when I'm right! Everyone always thinks that Reborn's got the answers for everything! Well, _newsflash_, Reborn can't even look at Tsuna anymore, so how would he know anything about him! _Nothing you guys say ever makes sense anymore!_"

And with that, Lambo clenched his eyes shut, scrambling out of the helicopter and into the elevator. When the doors shut, closing on Fuuta's hurt and confused expression, Lambo let himself slump down against the wall.

Today really was turning out to be horrible.

* * *

When Lambo ran into the infirmary, he didn't really know what he was expecting. Tsuna to be reading a book really wasn't it.

Okay, so Tsuna wasn't really reading it. The book was held in a hand resting limply in his lap. He was slumped against the fluffy pillows, forlorn expression pulling his face down and just making him seem…sadder. He didn't even seem to notice Lambo, either, as he stared at the page before him, eyes unmoving. It was actually kind of creepy, and it reminded Lambo too much of the days after the inheritance ceremony.

Lambo shuddered and pushed that thought out of his head. Instead of dwelling on the past, he decided to focus on the present. Tsuna looked sad, so he would help him feel better. It was the least he could do after he put him in here.

"Tsuna?"

The startled expression as Tsuna's hand gripped the book tighter wasn't exactly a surprise, either. Lambo just hated how much it made this Tsuna look like his other self. Maybe this time he could actually help since he knew a little of what was going on. Last time he had been so useless.

Tsuna's nose crinkled when he realized who it was that had called out to him. "Lambo? You sacred the crap out of me."

"Sorry," Lambo said, pulling himself to sit on Tsuna's bed. Poking the brunet, Lambo made him slide over until there was enough room for both of them on the bed. Satisfied, Lambo snuggled up against Tsuna, leaning in closer when an arm laid tentatively around his shoulders. "Are you feeling better?"

Tsuna hummed, and Lambo could feel the vibration where he had his head against Tsuna's chest. "Much. Onii-san says I have to stop landing myself in the infirmary."

"You've kind of gotten hurt a lot," Lambo acknowledged. "I should probably be expecting from now on."

Even though he had said it as a joke, a touch of laughter in his voice, Lambo hated how right he was, even as he said it. Tsuna really wasn't ready for any of this. He'd been getting hurt too often, breaking down too often, for anyone to really be comfortable. Seeing Tsuna like this so frequently had pretty much all of the Guardians down. Especially Gokudera, who'd put Tsuna on a pedestal.

Tsuna, even though he'd never really wanted to be, was their leader, the one they looked up to for strength in trying times. Lambo wondered if any of the others could see how much this Tsuna needed them more than they needed him. If he could see it, then the others should be able to, right?

"I guess," Tsuna said, breaking Lambo away from his thoughts. "I just feel like it's been too much too fast. I keep getting hurt, though, and I feel like I'm worrying you all."

"A little," Lambo admitted. "But I'm just glad you're still here. Better hurt than dead."

Tsuna grew quiet at that statement, and Lambo felt his mouth fall into a frown. Had he said something wrong? Was Tsuna mad at him? Too blunt?

"You're right," Tsuna whispered, his arm tightening pulling Lambo closer to him. "Sorry I've been a total idiot about everything."

Lambo shrugged. "We've all been idiots about this whole thing, I think. Gokudera especially. Stupid Octopus Head won't stop sulking all over the place. I think he could beat out Hibari with his moodiness. And you know if he can compete with Hibari in anything, than that means Gokudera's really gone off the deep end. I don't think there's any possibility of redemption."

Tsuna laughed, and the sound was like music to his ears, even if there was a slight hysterical hint to it. Giggling in reply, Lambo turned so that he could put his arms around Tsuna's neck. This way, he was able to see Tsuna's clear brown eyes and soft smile easier. Lambo broke out into a grin when he saw how carefree Tsuna looked. It was one of the best things Lambo had seen in days.

When Tsuna's laughter had died down, Tsuna flopped back into the pillows, blinking rapidly at the ceiling. "Wow. I really haven't laughed like that in days. I think I needed that."

"That's what I'm here for."

Tsuna eyed him, something incomprehensible shining in those brown orbs. "You're not really acting like you were before," he noted, a strange lilt to his voice. "Are you alright?"

Lambo shrugged. "You exploded for me. I think that warrants me not being a spoiled brat to you."

"You do that on purpose?" Tsuna asked, brow creasing. "Seriously?"

"Not all the time," Lambo scowled. "But I grew up in a mafia family, basically got kicked out to kill an unkillable hitman, snuck into a foreign country, and lived with all of you battling for your lives for almost three years. I'm not dumb."

Tsuna exhaled heavily through his nose. "No, you're not. Sorry for treating you like you were, sometimes. I'm not perfect." Tsuna paused. "Wait a minute, _exploding?_"

"Exploding," Lambo affirmed. "You really need to get that under control."

"You're telling me. Reborn thinks the exhaustion was some sort of side-effect from using the Original Ring for an extended time," Tsuna muttered. Lambo noted the contempt in his voice that sent shivers down his spine. "Like hell it was. I was barely fighting for five minutes."

"What even happened?" Lambo asked, a sudden desperation clawing its way up his throat.

Tsuna sighed, the tenseness he'd gained in his shoulders draining away just as fast. Lambo regretted bringing up the subject suddenly as he watched shadows crawl into Tsuna's eyes. He looked more than exhausted. He looked _haunted_. Like his other self sometimes did when he thought none of them were looking. Lambo hated that look.

"I don't even know," Tsuna said, his voice sad and his expression pinched up. "It was kind of the same thing that happened back when I was fighting Byakuran, but at the same time, not."

Well, that made zero sense to Lambo. "Huh?"

Tsuna chuckled, running his free hand down his face tiredly. "I don't really know. I can't exactly explain it, I just…. It's like the only thing on my mind was protecting you, and my flames just reacted without my permission."

"Oh," Lambo said, trying to make that make sense in his head. "So it's kind of like, you got scared, so you're flames got scared and protected us?"

Tsuna shrugged, looking down at him. "I guess you could put it that way."

Lambo sat up, whirling around to face Tsuna as something foreign bubbled up in his chest. He looked Tsuna up and down, taking in his bewildered expression to the arm he still had held up. Lambo noticed the way he was barely visibly trembling with what was probably tiredness.

"Okay. He's the deal," Lambo said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to get stronger so you and your flames won't have to be scared anymore. Next time, I'll protect you. That way, you won't get hurt anymore, either, and Turf Top won't be upset about you being in the infirmary. Got it?"

Tsuna was speechless. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly, small noises of disbelief eventually escaping. Lambo almost worried he'd broke Tsuna. Thankfully, Tsuna regained his voice. "Aren't I supposed to be protecting you?!"

"Nope," Lambo said, popping the 'p'. "I'll protect you from now on."

Rubbing an eye, Tsuna just stared at him. "How about," Tsuna started, his voice soft, and eyes even softer, "we make a promise."

He didn't know what was going on in that anxiety-filled mind of Tsuna's, couldn't even guess. So Lambo sucked in a breath and tilted his head quizzically. "A promise?"

Tsuna nodded. "It's like this. I'll protect you, and you protect me. And if we protect each other, than we can protect everyone else, too."

"Promise?" Lambo asked, after turning the offer over in his head. It didn't sound like a bad deal, if he thought about it. Protecting each other while protecting their family. That sounded like the best Lambo was going to get.

"Promise," Tsuna said, and Lambo broke out into a smile.

* * *

"I thought you said that you were going grab the Decimo's siblings," Argine proclaimed coldly, his high-backed chair creaking as he shifted. "That was your plan, wasn't it? To draw out the Decimo?"

The man in front of him nodded, but said nothing as he kept his head bowed. Argine sneered. The worthless trash wasn't worth his time.

"Get out of my sight." The coward left, and Argine was left alone with the smirking cloaked man. Sneering, Argine said, "And I suppose you're so happy because that bastard's plan failed, right?"

"Hardly," the cloaked man coughed.

Argine growled. He was tired of this man. As straightforward as he claimed to be, there were too many secrets he was keeping. Argine hated that this man seemed to be influencing him. It was time to take things into his own hands.

"When are you going to stop hiding behind your hood?"

The cloaked man smirked softly. "Does it bother you? Of course it does, it's written all over your face. However, it is necessary to keep my identity hidden for now. I believe at the convergence the right time to unveil myself will be present itself. Right when your son comes forward with the Vongola in ruins at his feet."

Argine slammed his hands on his desk, leaning forward threateningly. "Leave my son out of this. He's doing his job well, convincing the Vongola he is to be trusted, but I will not put him in harm's way during the convergence. He will be summoned home. He will _not_ be staying in that base."

The clocked man bowed mockingly. "Whatever you say, Don Argine. Just know this. Your son is more essential to this plan than both you and Miss Arbela realized."

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME!"

Argine huffed for breath, and the cloaked man just looked on impassively.

"I'm the one helping you exact your revenge."

"Like you don't have your own motives for starting this war," Argine scoffed, turning around to face the window. His fists clenched and unclenched, and he urged to throw his fist in the man's face. "If we had just assassinated the Decimo like I suggested in the first place, my son would have been safe. Not part of your master plan."

"Why don't you back out then?" the man asked, head tilted to the side. The smirk still sat on his face, so Argine guessed that the man knew exactly why he wasn't backing out. He explained anyways. "And besides, it would have never worked, would it? He's too heavily guarded."

"We're already too deep into this to stop now," he said, his tone icy. "My son is already in danger. They will kill him if they find out he is a traitor. It will only endanger him to pull out now."

The man hummed softly. "I have to wonder, though, why you agreed to this in the first place. Your son did his utmost to convince you not to go through with it, didn't he? But, ah, you were too deep in grief to notice much, I remember. Too insistent on finding a way to make yourself feel better about the situation. Needed to cast the blame somewhere, right? Why not the Vongola?"

Argine grit his teeth. "You have already reminded me plenty of times of the choices I have made. I will not back out, Pezzano. Now get out of my sight."

"As you wish."

* * *

Tsuna gazed at himself in the mirror. Determined brown eyes reflected back at him just underneath spiky brown hair. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Tomorrow he would be going on another mission. He was going to be with Chrome, Mukuro, Ken, and Chikusa this time, and he was determined not to mess it up.

No matter what time he was in, he would protect his family, and trust them to protect him back.

That's what family was for.

* * *

**So that happened. Thanks again to Jazebeth, NightmareAx7, Two-Stomach, and shinXlullaby for reviewing! Hope I answered any questions you guys have had!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, so story time. I WORK. ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME. SOMEBODY HELP ME. I don't have time to write any more and it's killing me, especially because War Torn has outlines and crap like that and I can't just be like, "hey, this would be cool if this happened!" I have to actually check what where I'm going with this story 'cause I don't want this story to become a complete and utter mess like all my other stories.**

**Anyways, I really wanted to give you guys _something_, so I split this chapter up into two parts. The next part will be done soon(?)**

**Thanks to **NightmareAx7, shinXlullaby, Breath after Death, Two-Stomach,** and **Logfella** for reviewing!**

* * *

"DAMN YOU!" Tsuna slammed his hands down on the desk.

This wasn't happening. It _couldn't_ be happening. Not now. Not when he'd made that stupid promise to Lambo. He'd told Lambo he'd get stronger in order to protect everyone. How could any of this have _happened?_

"Hibari's squad will take over your mission," Reborn said, his arms crossed and face stoic as he stood next to the empty leather chair behind the desk. "In the meantime, you're under lockdown."

"What about Mukuro?!" Tsuna yelled, eyes ablaze with anger. "You're just gonna leave him to rot?!"

Reborn's face went dark. "Of course not, and if you'd stop acting like a spoiled child for five seconds, then you'd know that we're sending a retrieval team to infiltrate the warehouse Chrome found out he's being held."

"A retrieval team?" Ken growled, lips pulled back in a feral grin. "That's us, right?"

"Ken," Chikusa reprimanded. He turned to Reborn, inclining his head slightly in respect. "Sorry for his behavior, but can we join the retrieval team? We know him the best, after all."

Sighing, Reborn waved his hand. "Meet me in room 16 in twenty minutes," he told them. "I'd be a fool to think that you two aren't a valuable resource."

"What about me?" Tsuna asked. "Can't I go too?"

"_No_. You're under lockdown, remember?"

Anger swelled within Tsuna's chest. This was all too much, all at once, and Tsuna couldn't go back on his promise with Lambo. He _had_ to protect everyone, and Mukuro—as creepy and antisocial as he was—counted as everyone. He was a friend, whether he liked it or not.

"You can't leave me out of this, Reborn!" His rage was almost palpable by now, and yet Reborn didn't look the least bit fazed by it. He was regarding Tsuna as if he were a five year old having a temper tantrum. "Even if you don't let me, I'm going to go out there and find Mukuro myself. If I have to do it alone, I will!"

"This isn't your war," Reborn hissed, expression crumpling up in contempt. "So _stay out of it_."

Tears welled up in Tsuna's eyes unbidden, and he couldn't help the tightness of his chest, like he was about to burst from emotions he couldn't quite figure out how to let escape. It built up inside of him until there was barely any room for breath.

"WHY WON'T YOU LOOK AT ME?!" Tsuna screamed, his eyes clenched shut. "You never _look_ at me! You tell me I have a _duty_ to lead an _army_ into _battle_, like it's something I'm just supposed to accept, happily following your lead without any explanation! And then you treat me like 'm dirt beneath your feet! And now you're saying that I can't go save my friend when that's _the only thing you taught me was worth fighting for!_"

Ken and Chikusa were staring at him as Tsuna huffed angry breaths that wouldn't quite stay inside his lungs. Reborn, for once in his stupid life, looked shocked.

_Good,_ Tsuna thought as he struggled to get his anger under control. _That's good. Maybe he'll listen to me for once._

"Tsuna-"

"Shut up!" he yelled, an agitated hand running through his spiky locks. "Just- Just shut up and figure out what the hell you want from me."

Tsuna turned tail, then. He ran out the door, away from the tension and heavy air that he'd unwittingly created. Away from Reborn's outstretched hand and wide eyes. Away from Ken's and Chikusa's looks of complete and utter shock.

He had to slow down after a while. Getting lost in the mountain maze sounding fun in theory, but Tsuna was too distraught to try and figure out where he was and what in the hell he was going to do now.

"…Boss?"

There was Chrome. Her purple hair was let down, curled around her shoulders, and she was dressed in short cargo shorts and a loose white tank top. She was blinking at him, like she wasn't sure if he was really there or not.

"Are…you alright?" she asked hesitantly.

Tears were still streaming down his cheeks, he realized, and hurried to wipe them away. He wasn't even going to pretend that he was fine. Not after _that_. He had screamed and yelled and then ran out crying like a little kid, and all he wanted to do was find his mom and curl up next to her.

He shook his head. "Not- not really, no."

Chrome smiled gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. They were about the same height now. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Wait a minute.

Tsuna's breathing hitched and he looked up at her face. "You know where Mukuro is, right?"

She shifted uncomfortably, but Tsuna didn't know whether it was because she didn't want to talk about her missing friend or because Reborn had forbidden her from telling him anything. Her hand slid from his shoulder. "Yes, I'm the one who found the warehouse. There were too many to trick or fight, though, so I came back with the information."

"Could you take me there?"

She stared at him. "To…Mukuro-sama?"

Tsuna nodded eagerly, sniffling slightly. "I want to help save him."

"Did Reborn-san-"

"I'm not listening to whatever he has to say anymore," Tsuna bit out, deflating when all she did was cock an eyebrow. "None of you guys get it. I _have _to save him. I promised."

"You promised…Mukuro-sama?" Chrome asked. Tsuna could tell she really wasn't following, which made sense since he was spouting a whole lot of nonsense at her all at once.

"Just- please?" Tsuna begged, grasping at her wrists lightly. "Please? Will you take me to Mukuro?"

She looked hesitant, and she was probably fighting herself on whether or not to let him get away with this. And he knew this was asking for trouble from all sorts of things—Reborn, really—but if he didn't go, he was going to regret it for the rest of his life. That promise from yesterday was still ringing in his ears.

"I'm not supposed to," Chrome finally said, and Tsuna felt his heart sinking. He perked up at her next words, though. "But I think that as the Decimo, you have as much right as anyone to go after their friends, so…I will help you save Mukuro-sama."

Tsuna smiled, eyes red and puffy, but smile genuine and bright. "I can't thank you enough, Chrome!"

Chrome smiled softly back. "Well, let's go then."

* * *

Somehow, they managed to sneak out of the base without getting caught, though it was probably due to Chrome's Mist Flames.

They crouched just outside the warehouse. Voices came from within, but they were murmured to make out. Tsuna wished he could make some sort of plan, but without knowing the layout of the place and where Mukuro was exactly, there wasn't much they could do, and he definitely didn't trust going in blind.

Tsuna turned to Chrome, and whispered, "Do you know where they're holding him?"

Chrome nodded. "Follow me."

They ended up crawling through the vents. Tsuna wasn't even sure how they got _into_ the vents. Just one minute outside listening to the voices creep closer, and the next sliding on their stomachs, pulling themselves forward with only their arms. It was strangely reminiscent of infiltrating Merone base in the future.

"Are we close?" Tsuna whispered after a while, because for some reason he was in front. Chrome, the only one who knew where they were even going was behind him and really quiet, yet every time Tsuna checked, she was still there. Amused, but there.

Chrome giggled softly, like she couldn't help but find him amusing somehow. "Almost. Take your next right and it will be the first vent we come to."

Tsuna didn't ask how she knew. He trusted her enough to follow her directions, stopping once he reached his destination. He peered through the slats, and seeing no one in the dim hall, worked on prying the vent open, dropping down as soon as he was done. Chrome was right behind him.

"Where to now?" Tsuna asked as they crept down the halls.

Chrome took his hand and pulled him down the hallways. Everything looked exactly the same, and Tsuna was having trouble believing this was an actual _warehouse_. It seemed more like a labyrinth to him. Going through the maze of hallways was dizzying and he was glad Chrome was here, otherwise he probably wouldn't have a chance of navigating this place.

They stopped in front of a locked door.

"Mukuro-sama is in here," Chrome said, even as she almost effortlessly picked the lock, and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder when she'd learned that trick. "I'm not sensing any guards, but be on the lookout anyways. They might have cameras, and the moment we enter the room, we need to be quick."

Tsuna scanned the hallways, his eyes narrowing. He hadn't thought about cameras. "But not in the hallways?"

Chrome shook her head. "I haven't seen any, and they have patrols anyways."

"Why wouldn't they post guards, though?" Tsuna asked, something not sitting right with him. "Mukuro's a Guardian, right? Wouldn't they want to be careful?"

"I'm not sure." Chrome seemed to turn her attention back to the door, a faraway look in her eyes. "I think you might be right, though. It could be a trap."

A trap. Well, Tsuna was kind of diving into this headfirst without even stopping to think about what he was doing. And he was dragging Chrome along for the ride, to top it all off. Every step they were taking was dangerous, but was it worth it to just walk into what could be a trap?

Tsuna huffed out a large breath. "Well, it's not like we have much of a choice," he said, pulling on his mittens and downing his Dying Will pills. When the flame lit his forehead, he'd calmed down. Nodding to Chrome, he gestured for her to open the door on his signal.

On three, the both of them burst into the small room on the other side of the door.

"Nagi?"

Mukuro was blinking at them from the wall opposite, wrapped up in glowing red chains that had Tsuna recoiling and his brain yelling at him _don't touch them don't touch them don't touch them_ and he couldn't quite figure out how to make his brain shut up. Even in Dying Will Mode.

"Mukuro-sama," Chrome said, immediately running to the other side of the room, Tsuna right on her heels. Chrome was about to pick the lock on the cuffs around Mukuro's wrists, but Tsuna stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Chrome blinked. "But…."

Mukuro coughed. "No, Tsunayoshi's right. There's a special key to unlock them. If you try anything else, they'll shock you with storm flames. And once those seep into your skin-"

"Okay, so don't touch the chains," Tsuna said, frustrated but keeping a lid on the feeling. "So how do we break you out?"

Smirking, Mukuro's trained onto Tsuna. "Well, for someone like you, that should be easy."

"Oh," Chrome said, a look of realization crossing her face as she glanced between the flamed chains and Tsuna's unlit fists. "Boss. You have to harmonize with the flames."

Tsuna's breathing increased as he thought about that. Harmonize with the storm flames keeping Mukuro locked up? How did he even _start_ going about that? Did he approach it like he would his revised Zero Point Breakthrough, or the First's edition?

Well, the revised version didn't seem like it would work, especially if the flames were stuck on the chains. Potentially using all of his energy just trying to absorb flames that wouldn't easily do his bidding would be a waste of time they really didn't have. But freezing the chains; that could work. Right?

Tsuna knelt down next to Mukuro and Chrome, gloves shifting into the First's Version. Chrome and Mukuro didn't look surprised but they both followed his movements. If he was going to do this, he was going to have to do it right. Doing it wrong would only lead to giving Mukuro scars he would carrying for the rest of his life—scars just like Xanxus.

"Ready?" Tsuna asked in a calm voice that didn't betray the nervousness he felt churning in his gut.

Mukuro nodded and Tsuna active his technique. "Zero Point Breakthrough: First's Edition." Ice coated the chains and cuffs, and he had to grit his teeth in his concentration as he struggled to not let it touch any part of Mukuro's skin.

Finally, _finally_, the chains were iced, none of it was coating Mukuro's skin, and Tsuna was out of breath. Chrome sent him a dazzling smile as she whirled out her trident, and even Mukuro looked a little more elated now that storm flames weren't eating away at him.

"Can we go now?" Tsuna asked.

Mukuro smirked. "Of course, Tsunayoshi. Let's get you back to the base. You look absolutely exhausted."

Tsuna blinked in confusion, because he wasn't really sure if that had been sarcasm or Mukuro's way of mocking him or what. Instead of lingering on it, Tsuna let his flames recede and scrambled to his feet. Following Mukuro and Chrome out of the room, back up into the air vents, and away from the warehouse.

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**Okay, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Really. I'm sorry you guys had to wait for just this much, but I am trying, and I really want to thank you guys for supporting me! Even if you don't review, I still appreciate the favorites and follows a lot! And if you ever want to chat with me, I'm _hometothesky_ on tumblr!**

**Thanks again guys!**

**P.S. This isn't edited. Sorry ._.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's the other half of the chapter. I really did mean to post it all as one chapter, but I had wanted to make sure I got something out to you guys while I struggled. Anyways, this is a super important chapter, so strap in. Thanks for everyone who favorited and followed!**

Oh, and if you guys have a prompt or a drabble you want to see written in this AU, hmu on tumblr. Writing new things helps me to focus on chapters, surprisingly enough. Even if it's something from canon or another AU, send me an ask. I'm _hometothesky_ on tumblr!

**Thanks to _Logfella, Two-Stomach, Breath after Death, Hells Tenshi, TheDancingMelon,_ and _KellyKatt19 _for reviewing! I really appreciate your reviews. Seriously, I'm glad I've got such great support behind me, and you've all made me feel better, especially struggling to get this message out in the right way (You'll understand once you read the chapter).**

**Enjoy!**

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"Do you want to talk about it?"

Tsuna jumped, whirling around to face the newcomer, only relaxing when he realized who it was that had snuck up on him. He put a hand over his heart, the beats thumping just a hair faster than normal. "Mukuro."

Mukuro cocked an eyebrow, and Tsuna wondered if the illusionist was challenging him. "Well? Do you?"

Definitely a challenge.

"No," Tsuna sighed, turning back around to face the dirty window, peering down at the street below. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and tried not to think too much about what could possibly smudge the window enough that he had to look through a small crack in order to even see anything.

Actually, he tried not to think about anything in this place. Too much thinking would ruin this whole set up and it would be almost impossible to concentrate on trying to find a way out of the city.

"I'm interested, Tsunayoshi," Mukuro said again, pressed close enough that Tsuna shivered at the other's breath against his neck. "Tell me about it."

Tsuna just pushed Mukuro away lightly—the only thing that actually kept Mukuro away was to physically push him, otherwise he would stay right there. Right in Tsuna's personal space, and that was _not _something Tsuna wanted at all.

Mukuro backed up a few steps without complaint, but he kept looking at Tsuna expectedly, and honestly, Tsuna was really confused. He didn't know what Mukuro was even talking about.

"About what?" Tsuna asked, just to get Mukuro off his back.

"About what's bothering you."

Tsuna exhaled in a huff. "We're sitting in an abandoned building, trying to come up with some sort of plan to get back to the base while avoiding the dozens of men from the warehouse that are coming after us. What do you think is bothering me?"

"At least it's abandoned, boss," Chrome pointed out from her place on the floor across the room. She didn't even look up, just kept on typing on some device. "We could be hiding in the air vents in the warehouse still."

Mukuro frowned. "Something else is bothering you. Something from before. It drove you here to rescue me, and Nagi told me you were crying when you asked her to help you."

Blinking, Tsuna looked between Mukuro and Chrome, wondering just when they had talked about that, because Tsuna had been here the entire time and he'd hardly heard a peep from either of them in the past few hours they'd been hiding out here.

"Boss," Chrome urged, looking sympathetic. "Please tell us. You always said it was best to talk it out when you're holding it all in."

"I did?" Tsuna asked. "You mean like future me?"

Chrome nodded. "You grew to be very sweet and wise."

Tsuna blanched. Him? _Wise?_ That was not a word that was usually used to describe Tsuna. Actually, it was usually the opposite if he were being honest. No one used anything but stupid and _dame_ to describe who he was. It was a surprise to be called wise by anybody.

"What- What am I like? In this time, I mean," Tsuna asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He knew all about that incident that caused him to change, becoming someone that his friends in the past probably wouldn't recognize. But he wanted to understand what it was that _made_ him so different in the future. He got that he was different, but _what_ was different? And why did it make some of his future friends treat him so differently? "Am I some great leader or something?"

Mukuro pursed his lips, catching Chrome's gaze. They communicated silently for a moment before Tsuna wondered what could possibly be so bad about telling him. They broke eye contact and both turned to look at Tsuna.

"You are very passionate," Chrome said. "Enough to motivate people for your cause. And that trait, I believe, has already started to develop."

Tsuna blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You become a great leader, Tsunayoshi," Mukuro told him, and Tsuna turned his attention to the male illusionist. "But sometimes I wish that you would go back to being you. Who cares about being a leader when it devours you and makes you into something dark and ugly."

"What are you talking about?" Tsuna whispered, eyes flicking back and forth between Mukuro and Chrome like just looking at them would give him answers.

Chrome sighed lightly. "Some of the guardians have been…talking. About why it's been so hard for us to accept you while _our_ boss is in your world."

"It's because you miss my future self, right?" Tsuna asked. "That's what had been said before. I think Yamamoto had said something…about it. He said that this was a two-way street. You miss your friend, and I miss all of mine."

Chrome grimaced. "If that were the case, then why did you, compared to us at least, have such an easy time accepting us as your friends? It didn't take you long to reach out to us, even though we pushed you away."

"There's more to it than just missing our leader and friend," Mukuro added and Tsuna barely dared to breathe. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is someone who could lead armies with hardly a thought. It was something he was used to."

"I still don't get it," Tsuna murmured. "What are you talking about?"

"Boss," Chrome said, a serious glint in her eyes. "Most of us didn't have a hard time accepting you just because we miss your future self. It's because you're _you_."

"And _our_ Sawada Tsunayoshi is not." Mukuro's expression was grim, and Tsuna wasn't sure what any of this even meant. Mukuro continued, "You remind us of everything that we lost the day Tsunayoshi first took a life. Everything that he never regained."

The brunet swallowed. "Oh."

Tsuna's chest was tight again, emotions threatening to choke him again, and he wished—not for the first time—that his Reborn was right here next to him, helping him figure out what he was going to do, how he was going to handle all this new stuff.

To find out that _this_ was why they'd all pushed him away at first, it was…unsettling. Tsuna honestly didn't know how to feel about any of this at all.

"So Gokudera…I remind him of what my future self used to be," Tsuna said. "That's why he's been like…that? And Reborn, too?"

Chrome hesitated. "Reborn is…different, but yes, I believe that is the main reason it is so hard for those closest to you to accept your position here and now."

"Oh."

This new piece of the puzzle wasn't fitting in very well, and Tsuna felt kind of dizzy. Were those two things related? Was he having trouble figuring out how his lungs were supposed to work because he knew the reason why everyone was treating him like they couldn't stand him?

Mukuro was in front of him. "Breathe, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna nodded, taking a compliant breath. The oxygen rushed into his lungs and he gained a little piece of his composure. He couldn't afford to freak out. Not here, where they were so exposed, on the run, hiding from their enemies. He forced himself to take another breath, this one deeper than the last.

"Are you alright, boss?" Chrome asked. "We were reluctant to tell you, mostly because we didn't want you to freak out."

"We also didn't want you to be upset with us," Mukuro said, his arms crossing in front of his chest.

Chuckling a bit breathlessly, Tsuna just shook his head. "I'm- I'm not mad at you guys. At least I don't think I am. It's just- It doesn't really make a lot of sense from my perspective, I guess. We're supposed to be family."

So maybe he was a little upset. Sue him.

"Boss, we know that," Chrome told him. "It took us a little while, but most of us figured it out back at that meeting. Seeing you like that, haunted from ghosts that shouldn't even be in your life yet, it gave us all a sense of protection."

"Gokudera too?" Tsuna asked.

Mukuro huffed a laugh. "The bomber is too overprotective for his own good. He's just taking a little longer to come to terms with it."

"Everyone else is with you," Chrome said, her voice gentle.

Tsuna nodded. "Right."

They hadn't given him a reason to doubt them, Tsuna realized. He'd been so worried about Gokudera and Reborn that he hadn't noticed the guardians that had come to support him, even from this time. First it had been Yamamoto, there to support him even when it looked like he was struggling with his own feelings. Then it was Ryohei, and then Lambo and making that promise to protect each other. And now, it was Mukuro and Chrome, right there to help him back on his feet if he fell.

The feeling of loneliness was dissipating, Tsuna noted, and he felt like he was relaxing for the first time since he'd come to this time. Not even laughing yesterday with Lambo had felt as good as this sense of rightness he felt right now, inside of him.

It was so warm. Tsuna had been cold too long, but he hadn't even noticed he was getting warmer and warmer until the flame was stoked and ready to help him, and it was all thanks to his friends. His family.

He felt like such an idiot for not noticing. For not realizing sooner.

"Thank you," Tsuna said. "For telling me."

Chrome nodded, but didn't say anything, just tapping away on the device in her lap, her attention returned to it. It looked like she had used up all her words for the time being. Mukuro, though, he looked thoughtful as he looked Tsuna up and down.

"As a proper thank you, you could let me possess your body and help me bring down the mafia world. After this is all over, of course."

Tsuna laughed. "You'll have to take that up with my future self when he gets back, but I have a feeling the answer is going to be no."

Mukuro smirked. "I guess we'll just have to see."

It was two hours later when Reborn finally showed up, Gokudera and Hibari in tow. He stormed through the warehouse doors, looked at all three of them, and stormed back out. Tsuna watched Mukuro and Chrome look at each other, and scrambled after them as Reborn led them outside to an empty parking lot.

A helicopter sat there, idle, thankfully, and making no noise, but Tsuna was really glad that it was there.

When he climbed inside, he had to grab the side in fear of falling back out again, something ramming into his middle and wrapping around him. Tsuna glanced down and he felt his heart softening to mush at the sight of Lambo trembling, refusing to let go of him.

"Lambo?" he asked, ruffling the kid's untamable hair. "Are you alright?"

"No!" Lambo yelled, slightly muffled by Tsuna's shirt. He looked up into Tsuna's eyes, green meeting brown, and Tsuna watched Lambo's lower lip start to stremble. "You could have at least take me with you!"

Yamamoto laughed, startling Tsuna into looking at the other occupants of the helicopter. Reborn was already taking the pilot's seat, Hibari slipping into the cockpit next to him. Gokudera was sitting next to Mukuro and Chrome, and Yamamoto was alone on the other side, right next to the only other empty seat (behind Hibari's seat, yay).

Tsuna gently pried Lambo off of him before Hibari could send him a death glare, and sat down in the empty seat, Lambo sitting on his lap the moment he was able to. Laughing quietly to himself, Tsuna squeezed Lambo once more and buckled them in, ready for a long helicopter ride home.

* * *

**Okay, so before anyone yells at me, no, Mukuro is not wearing the cuffs anymore, yes Tsuna forgot about them, and yes, it comes up in the next chapter.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	21. Chapter 21

**I listened to the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack while writing this. I thought it was fitting.**

**Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews (**StarPurpleandBlue, Two-Stomach, TheDancingMelon, Breath after Death, **and** KellyKatt19**_). _There's some really important things at the end, so make sure you check that out!**

**This is the chapter that many of you have been waiting for.**

* * *

_Present_

"Why isn't it working?" Kyoko asked, crouching next to Shoichi as he fiddled with a few controls of the time machine. "Is it broken?"

"No," Shoichi murmured thoughtfully. He said nothing more, and Kyoko couldn't help but sigh.

It had been two days since Kyoko had been informed about Tsuna and how he…_wasn't exactly Tsuna_. And it had been two days since Kyoko told Hana…well, everything. All of it. Reborn had sat down with the two of them, and they chatted about what it was that was going on around Sawada Tsunayoshi. It had also been two days since Sawada-san had come back to the house. And, it had been two days since Tsuna's mother and father had stopped talking to each other.

Kyoko wasn't sure what was going on with that, exactly, but she didn't want to involve herself, either. Involving herself would just make it complicated. She only needed to look at the last time if she wanted proof.

Hana still wasn't sure about this whole thing, but now that she understood that Tsuna wasn't really Tsuna, she seemed to be reserving judgement until she could question the Tsuna of the present. Until then, she had told Kyoko that she wasn't going to leave her side.

And she didn't. Hana was sitting on the porch, watching Kyoko get ignored by Shoichi.

"Is there a reason it's not working?" Kyoko asked. She didn't want to be a pain, but she was rather anxious to get her Tsuna back. It was already the fourth, and they had all come back on the first of October. That was four days of Tsuna being missing, and Kyoko was sick with worry. Being a pest was really the least of her worries.

Shoichi's shoulders slumped. "I _think_ it's finished."

"Then why isn't it working?" Kyoko asked again, desperate to gain some answers.

"Theoretically," Gokudera said, walking up to them, hands in his pockets, "the future side has to match up to our readings before we can turn it on. If they don't, then the portals don't synchronize and we risk blowing a hole in the space time continuum," he told Kyoko. Then he added, "theoretically."

"And based on what you told me," Shoichi muttered, "their side won't be ready for at least another nine or ten days. Opening up a portal like that would have set then back majorly. They'd probably have to start from scratch."

"So the reason it's not working isn't our fault," Kyoko clarified, some sort of mixture between disappointment and relief settling in her stomach, making her feel sick.

Shoichi shook his head. "It's the future side. They need to match up to us, now."

Hana snorted. "Okay," she said, skeptical tone reflecting onto her face. "I still don't get why we even need a portal if they ripped open a hole in the first place. Can't we just do the same thing?"

"DOES BLOWING UP THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!" Gokudera yelled at her. Hana didn't even flinch.

Shoichi just sighed. He had to be exhausted after spending three days—almost nonstop—working on that machine with Spanner. "Look, it's hard to explain, but you basically need a support in order to open up a pathway between times."

"How do you know that?" Yamamoto asked, walking out the door to sit down next to Hana. The dark-haired girl huffed, but accepted his presence all the same, which was more than Kyoko could ask for. Spanner followed him out.

Spanner walked over to Shoichi and plopped down next to the redhead. "It's not as complicated as you're all thinking," he said, sucking on his weirdly shaped lollipop. "The Ten Year Bazooka works in pretty much the same way. The only thing different between the bazooka and what we're doing here is that the bazooka has a time limit. This doesn't."

Shoichi nodded, agreeing with Spanner.

Kyoko hummed. "So wait. Why can't we just use the Ten Year Bazooka to get Tsuna back?"

Gokudera sighed. "The Bazooka has a time limit, remember?"

Frowning, Kyoko nodded. She guessed she could see where that wouldn't work. It wouldn't be the same if the Tsuna's only switched to their original worlds for five minutes.

"That's not the only thing," Shoichi put in. "You remember that machine my future-self built to pull you guys forward, right?"

Gokudera huffed out a gruff, "Yeah, what about it?" while Kyoko and Yamamoto just nodded. Hana frowned, but Kyoko thought that was only in disapproval, not confusion.

"Well, the only reason future me was able to execute that plan was because the Ten Year Bazooka was acting as a support in the present. The readings were in synch and future me was able to open a pathway to pull everyone through once the Bazooka was activated by…well, me. Present me."

"What's your point, Irie?" Gokudera asked, sounding intrigued. "We understand you need a support, but that doesn't explain why we couldn't just alter the Bazooka to Two Years…oh."

Gokudera's face was blank, but Shoichi was nodding, looking rather ill. "Yes, the only reason the time limit didn't activate for the Bazooka in the future—the reason you all were stuck there—was because of the machine future me built. To snatch all of your future selves before they were transported to the present so that nobody could switch back."

Yamamoto laughed. "I don't really get what you guys are saying. Maybe you could simplify it a bit?"

"They're saying that because the Bazooka wasn't used in the original switch, it can't be used switching them this time, either," Spanner explained.

Hana shook her head, speaking up for the first time since Gokudera had blown up at her. "But why?"

Shoichi shifted uncomfortably, looking sicker by the minute. "Nobody knows how Tsunayoshi-kun was propelled into the future in the first place, so using the Bazooka—which, again, has a time limit—wouldn't be a permanent solution. It would only switch them for the five minutes, and then both Tsunayoshi-kun's would return to the wrong time once more."

"So the only way to permanently fix this," Gokudera summed up, "is to stick with our original plan: creating a fixed pathway so both Tenth's have a way back home without having to deal with a time limit."

Yamamoto nodded. "That makes sense."

Thinking about it, it really did make some sense, to create a pathway that couldn't be thwarted by an enemy or a time limit. It would bring Tsuna home, the safe way. The only problem with it was that they didn't know when they could synch up with the future portal, now.

"So what can we do in the meantime?" Hana asked. "I mean, there has to be something we can do, something other than just sitting here twiddling our thumbs."

Spanner and Shoichi both lit up like Christmas lights, looking at each other and then clambering to their feet. Shoichi spoke up, then. "Does anybody know where Lambo-kun is?"

"Lambo-chan?" Kyoko asked, tilting her head in curiosity. "He went shopping with Sawada-san, I-pin-chan, and Bianchi. Why?"

"We have an idea," Spanner said. "And we need the Ten Year Bazooka if we're going to make it work."

* * *

Reborn hummed. "I get why you three kept this a secret, but now that you're gone, I don't think it'd be a good idea to hide anything anymore. Sticking together would be the best option, especially in your time."

"There are spies, Reborn," Tsuna told him. He was sitting on his old bed like nothing was wrong, Reborn sitting on the open window's sill. He tried to keep his voice steady, even. Just like he practiced. "If I release his information, there's a chance my enemies will catch wind of it and then everything I've worked for will be lost."

"Tsuna," Reborn said, voice solemn and quiet like Tsuna'd never heard it. The hitman kept his face pointed towards the front yard, but his words were obviously directed at Tsuna. "When did your friends become people you couldn't trust? Even when you were going through the hardest times, you could turn to your friends—you _family_—and you trusted them with the entire world. When did that change?"

Tsuna didn't glare, but his voice dropped and his tone was colder when he said, "You know exactly when."

Reborn just shook his head. "No. I don't. Because, as much as I'd like to be, I'm not the one who shared all of those experiences with you. I'm not the one you really need right now." The hitman sighed, his tiny shoulder's going up and down with the motion of his breath. "The one you need is currently with the one who needs _me_ right now. And as much as we both wish we could change this, we can't. At least, not at the moment."

"What are you saying?" Tsuna asked, the blankness back. He just wished Reborn would make his point already.

"I'm saying," Reborn told him, turning his head so Tsuna could see the spark in his eyes, "that the only way to make this easier for everyone is to give your younger self a chance while you're stuck here. Give him the information he needs, and _believe in your friends_."

* * *

_2YL_

By the time the helicopter touched down in the base, Tsuna was exhausted.

Somehow, without him noticing, night had turned into morning, and besides that, without even realizing it, Tsuna had stayed in Hyper mode for longer than an hour, and stood watch from the warehouse window for a few more, barely even acknowledging his tiredness until he was on his way home.

Home. It was a funny word. Even ten years in the future Tsuna had always thought of the present as home, not the base his counterpart had built. And now, in this time, he couldn't help but think of this mountain, hiding a giant base of operations and an _army_, as a home. His heart was there, he thought. Or almost there, at least. The people he loved, even if they were two years older, were all there, in this new home his heart was finally settling into.

Sure, he'd been surrounded by his family in the helicopter, but here, in the base, it felt safe. The rest of his family was resting behind these walls, and now they were all together again. Tsuna felt a sense of accomplishment and happiness wash over him as he left the helicopter.

Lambo was sticking to his side, refusing to let go of his hand as Reborn led their odd group down the elevator and through the halls, to the meeting room they had used last time. One peek inside let Tsuna catch sight of Iemitsu, Basil, Dino, Ryohei, Enma (he was still here) and his two friends, Ken and Chikusa (who went straight to Mukuro and Chrome the moment they were in sight) and, sitting right next to his father….

"Mom!" Tsuna cried out happily, rushing over to her.

"Tsu-kun!" Nana enveloped Tsuna in a hug the moment he was close enough, pecking his face with little kisses and gripping him tightly—not enough to hurt, though. "You're okay!"

"Thank goodness for that," Iemitsu said gruffly, his entire being radiating disapproval and…something else. It looked kind of like worry, but it was something that Tsuna had never seen so openly on his father's face that he had trouble recognizing it at first. The more he looked, though, the more it became apparent, that _yes,_ his father _had _been worried.

That was a weird thought, for some reason. It was hard for Tsuna to wrap his head around.

"Sawada!"

Tsuna only had about a two second warning after his mother released him before he was crushed into another hug—this time by Ryohei. Yamamoto was laughing, standing next to the two, and only started laughing harder when Lambo started complaining about not getting a long enough hug.

Tsuna laughed, too, when Ryohei released him and ruffled his hair. Tsuna turned to Lambo. "You sat on my lap the entire time we were in the helicopter!"

Lambo pouted, wrapping his arms around Tsuna's middle anyways. "So? That wasn't long enough! And I don't count that as a _hug_."

Tsuna didn't refute the kid, wrapping his own arms around Lambo and lifting him up. The exhaustion was being driven away by the pure happiness of those surrounding him. His mom was still beaming, Ryohei and Yamamoto laughing, Lambo clinging to him, and Basil, Enma (and his friends), Dino, and Chrome were all smiling at him. Even Mukuro was smirking.

Gokudera wasn't smiling, though. In fact, he looked kind of bewildered by the whole scene—maybe even scared, and Tsuna briefly flashed back to what Mukuro had said about him reminding the bomber of what his future-self used to be like and all of what he wasn't anymore.

So Tsuna put Lambo down, and gave Gokudera a small smile. While the others started chattering to each other, Tsuna took a few steps towards where Gokudera had his arms crossed and a terrified sort of confusion written across his face.

"Gokudera-kun?"

"What is it?" the bomber asked tersely.

"Thank you."

Gokudera froze. "What?"

Tsuna swallowed, but went through with his impromptu plan. "Thanks. For before. You protected me back when I first appeared. And you guided me back to the base. And even though you were struggling, I don't think you ever gave up. And you came to get me this time, too," Tsuna said. "So, thank you."

Gokudera looked like he was going to cry, and while that hadn't really been Tsuna's goal, it was the only other emotion Tsuna had seen on Gokudera's older face in over a week. He was sort of stunned by the raw emotion open on Gokudera's face. There for everyone in the room to see it.

Stunned, and really, _really_ happy—and wasn't that all sorts of messed up?

Gokudera finally sniffed and tugged Tsuna in for a rough hug. "I promise," he whispered. "I promise, Sawada Tsunayoshi, that I will do everything in my power to get you back to your family."

Sucking in a large breath, Tsuna hesitantly wrapped his arms around Gokudera in return. "Gokudera-kun?"

"This must be so hard for you," Gokudera continued. "It's probably been as hard for you as it has been for all of us, and all I did was push you away when you needed some support. I promise- _I promise_, that I will do everything I can for you."

Gokudera was...he was accepting Tsuna. Just like that. How- Why- What had brought this on? Tsuna had been wondering for so long when Gokudera would finally let him close, _if _ Gokudera would let him close. It broke his heart every time the bomber pushed Tsuna away, and to have _this_ happen? It was amazing. His heart—so long ago, it had been completely shattered by his family's rejection, but now it was bursting with happiness. Filled to the brim with love and acceptance.

Tsuna sobbed and gripped the back of Gokudera's shirt, burying his face into the bomber's shoulder. This was more than he could ever ask for. He'd only meant to try to get Gokudera to warm up to him. Who knew that Gokudera had been so close to accepting him like this?

It was _amazing_ and Tsuna couldn't stop crying.

* * *

**Kinda dialogue heavy, but I was trying to do something new for the present time.**

**I had more planned for this chapter, but I felt this was a really good place to end it. Otherwise it would be about 7,000 words longer, and I wanted to get this up before school got into full swing.**

**Okay, so I have a couple questions for you guys.**

**Would you guys like it if I did a Q&amp;A for War Torn on tumblr? You'd be free to ask anything you'd like about the story, and I'll try my best to keep it spoiler free. But I'd love to hear what kinds of things are on your mind. The story is almost to the climax, so it may be a little early to do a Q&amp;A, but I want to do one if you guys do. So please, stop by my profile and cast your vote in my poll. I'll keep it open for a week! If you guys are into it, I'll put the date and time frame in the next chapter.**

**Following that, are guys into the shorter chapters? They're letting me get them out a bit faster. I've already got half of chapter 22 written, so I predict that the next chapter will be up in two weeks or less. So let me know that, as well.**

**Lastly, I'm thinking I maybe want to put this on AO3, but if I do that, I want to revise it first, so the chapters would be updated. I'm not too into this idea, but I think maybe it could be a later project? Anyways, I'd like all of your opinions on this before I go and just do it. So yeah. Let me know!**

**Thanks!**


	22. Chapter 22

**-SUPER LONG NOTE AHEAD!-**

**I wrote this when I was dying of exhaustion, so it needed some serious editing when I read through it for the first time. I went through it a couple times, but sometimes that's just as bad as not reading through it at all. Hopefully everything makes sense. Let me know if doesn't.**

**Thanks to **StarPurpleandBlue, Jazebeth, Two-Stomach, Breath after Death, mirrorthatreflectsit,** and**KellyKatt19 **for reviewing! And thanks for answering my questions!**

**I think I'm going to stick with short-medium chapter lengths unless I get super inspired (So, like between 2,000 and 4,000). I don't want to keep anybody waiting, and sometimes when a chapter is super long, it gets hard to write it. And then I get busy and things get out of control.**

**As for the Q&amp;A, I'm gonna put that on hold for now. If you do have any questions, just leave a review or PM me, and I'll probably just post the answers in the next chapter-and if you want anonymity, just let me know! But if you're confused, chances are someone else is too! As I told StarPurpleandBlue, because it's mostly Tsuna narrating this story, some things tend to get passed over. He's sort of an unreliable narrator (**thanks for this, SP&amp;B! Forgot the terminology**). So yeah. Let me know if you have questions!**

**Oh! And I will be uploading this to AO3 _eventually_. I'll take it one chapter at a time, and when I post a chapter over there, it'll be updated on this site (I'll put an edited date on them)! So don't expect the whole story right away over there. I also got some great advice from a couple of you, so thanks! I do have an account on AO3, and luckily, it's the exact same username.**

**Time for questions!**

_**\- Why couldn't future Reborn heal Tsuna (way back in chapter 2)?**_

**He did. Kind of. In chapter 3: **"Reborn's sun flames-Tsuna figured they must be strong enough to heal even bones in this form-had erased the marks to a point, but the bruises were far from gone." **So Reborn kind of did heal Tsuna's broken ribs, just not all of the bruises (Remember that Reborn's not cursed anymore). Ryohei just finished up the job.**

_**\- Why isn't Tsuna as surprised about Adult!Reborn as he was in canon?**_

**Let me just start off by saying that by the time Tsuna had met future Reborn, he'd already had so much laid on him-especially in the beginning-he kind of just took it all in as part of the future. Kind of like dissociation almost. Plus, while he's accepted that future Reborn is an adult, he's still hesitant around him. If you notice, Tsuna never thinks of his (present) Reborn as someone who could turn into future Reborn.**

**It's all a little complicated, but not something that has really been addressed too much yet.**

**And with that, enjoy!**

* * *

By the time Tsuna had cried himself dry, the majority of the people in the room had taken it upon themselves to sit down around the table. Tsuna realized with a slight flush that everyone was looking at him and Gokudera with different degrees of emotions, but Gokudera didn't even seem to mind. He just took Tsuna's hand, gently prying it from its tight grip on the fabric of his shirt, and led him to the seat next to his mother.

Tsuna didn't resist, letting Gokudera guide him. The bomber plopped down in his own seat, right next to Tsuna, and he looked as exhausted as the brunet felt.

With Gokudera and Tsuna now seated, Reborn was the only one left standing. And if Tsuna were being honest, Reborn was kind of intimidating. Arms crossed, fedora shadowing half his face, stature so tall he seemed to be towering over the entire table, and a calculating gleam in those onyx eyes that kept Tsuna on edge—all more reminders that even if Tsuna had accepted everybody, not everybody had accepted him.

Reborn uncrossed his arms, letting one fall to his side. He held up one finger. "There was _one_ thing that I told you not to do, Tsuna," Reborn said, his voice dubiously calm. "Just one. Do you remember what that was?"

Tsuna fidgeted under Reborn's gaze, but didn't speak.

"I told you to stay here."

There was silence.

He didn't regret disobeying Reborn in the least. If he hadn't, Mukuro would probably still be locked up with those chains wrapped around him, those bright red storm flames eating away at his skin (They'd only been able to get those off halfway through running across the city while escaping. Somehow. Tsuna suspected Chrome and Mukuro had done something, but he was a little scared to ask).

And Tsuna wasn't the least bit unhappy with how the whole thing went down, even with the looming consequences of leaving the base inevitable. His promise with Lambo hanging in the balance, and his sudden (although, thinking about it now, it really was all but), desperate need for his family to be safe, he really hadn't seen another choice.

So why was Reborn acting like he'd gone rogue? Like he'd sworn off the Vongola name forever? Like he'd betrayed them all?

Why didn't Reborn make any _sense?_

"That's not fair," Tsuna breathed, his long-forgotten rage slowly seeping back in. Anger colored his tone when he said, "You told me to stay _out of it_. Didn't you need me to lead your army? Wasn't I supposed to become some figurehead so no one else knew that anything was wrong?! How do I stay out of something you keep _involving me in?!_"

"You're not leading anyone," Reborn told him, his tone cold, unforgiving. "Not anymore. That stunt you pulled-"

Tsuna slammed his hands on the table, chair flying back as he stood up and leaned forward, desperate to make Reborn just _understand_. "You don't get it! You never get it! I don't want to lead anything! I _never_ wanted to lead! _I'm not going to become a Mafia Boss, Reborn!"_

The room was left in complete silence, and the entire room looked shocked at his outburst, and Tsuna was left with a gaping hole in his chest, because he understood then and there that it wasn't just _Reborn_ who hadn't understood. It was _everybody_. No one, in the entire time they'd become involved with Tsuna and Reborn, had gotten that Tsuna never wanted the position that Reborn had been forcing him towards.

_How?_

After two years, how could no one understand that he hadn't just been complaining? Had they really not known he'd rebelled against leading the mafia with his very being? It still surprised him, even a week after being in the future, that his future-self had caved to Reborn (but he always caved, didn't he? When it was Reborn calling the shots, things happened exactly the way Reborn wanted them to).

This was supposed to be his family, something he protected. And he was starting to get that it wasn't just physically protecting someone. It was their feelings, emotions, dreams, hopes—all those were precious to Tsuna, and he thought his own had been precious to the people he called his friends.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said, his voice low and gentle, but Tsuna flinched like the baseball player was screaming in his face. His amber eyes weren't wide, and he looked more pained than almost everybody else in the room. He didn't say anything else, though, his mouth opening and closing as he floundered for something else to say.

"_What?"_ Tsuna bit out before he could stop himself. He regretted about point-zero-two seconds later when Yamamoto seemed to gain about ten years at the accusation in just that single word, because he really hadn't meant to do that, no matter how much they had accidentally hurt him.

"It's just- I know what you're thinking. And- it's not what you think. It just caught us off guard is all."

There was silence as Tsuna tried to understand. And then, "I haven't heard you say that in a long time," Basil cut in, looking as old as Yamamoto did, and suddenly, Tsuna got it. "About not being a mafia boss. It's been over a year, I think."

The lightbulb went off.

"Oh," he said. Looking down at the table, Tsuna let his shoulders slump, realizing what was going on. Yamamoto still looked old and weary, and Tsuna realized exactly what he had accidentally been doing to these people. Mukuro had warned him, and he still had thought the worst of his closest friends.

It wasn't their fault that Tsuna reminded them of who their Tsuna used to be. And it wasn't Tsuna's either, not really, but the only way to stop reminding them of what they'd lost was to leave, and he couldn't do that. He couldn't abandon them.

So how could think the worst of people who'd just been shocked to hear familiar words appear out of nowhere? He was such an idiot.

Enma, from across the table, like some kind of mind reader, said, "Don't beat yourself up, Tsuna-kun." Tsuna glanced at him while everyone eyed the two questioningly. Enma kept going, despite how nervous he looked. "It's not your fault. So don't act like it is, because that doesn't help anyone, you know?"

"Right," Tsuna said slowly.

"Can we please get back to-"

"Wait. I have something to say." Yamamoto spoke up again, his words aimed at Reborn this time. His gaze was steady, heavy, and Tsuna would absolutely hate to be on the receiving end. "You told me a couple days ago that you didn't want to be responsible for breaking him again, but can't you see what you're doing?" Yamamoto paused, and when Reborn only met his gaze, he kept going. "By staying conflicted like this, you're just tearing him apart even more."

Reborn didn't get angry, and Tsuna felt his jaw drop as Yamamoto's words turned over in his head. The hitman thought himself responsible for breaking Tsuna? What did that even mean?

"Is that why you refuse to get close to him?" Dino whispered, something like alarm flashing through his eyes. "Tell me that's not it, Reborn."

Reborn drew his shoulders up. "This conversation isn't about me," he said coolly. His dark gaze landed on Tsuna, and the brunet realized that he was still standing, facing Reborn with a slack jaw and wide eyes. "This is about Tsuna disobeying me and sneaking out of the base. You put yourself in danger needlessly."

The anger came back in a rush, crawling under his skin like an infection, and it made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be this angry. He didn't want to feel so messed when he was just so happy mere _minutes_ ago. When he'd just heard something that let him know how Reborn was really feeling inside that cold exterior he always hid behind.

But he couldn't change the fact that he was. He was angry, and upset, and _hurt_.

"I protected someone important to me," Tsuna said, and was mildly surprised that his voice wasn't shaking. He continued on, meeting Reborn gaze for gaze, "And I would do it a thousand times over again."

Lambo shot to his feet, leaning over the table. The kid stuck his tongue out at Reborn and yelled, "He's fine, so why do you even _care?" _

Reborn's heavy gaze landed on Lambo after his outburst. But Lambo wasn't deterred in the least, plowing ahead like he always did. The moment he opened his mouth, Tsuna felt the urge to run over to him and cover it up, to save the curly-haired kid from Reborn's wrath, just like he used to do back in his own time.

Some things never changed, it seemed.

"Tsuna came back," Lambo exclaimed, gesturing wildly around himself. He was practically sitting on the table at this point. "_And_ he saved the Pineapple! Can't you just be relieved that he's back instead of angry that he left?"

Reborn wasn't going down without a fight, either, it seemed. "He could have gotten hurt, Lambo. He went in with _one person_ to save Mukuro, and he easily could have died if just one thing had gone wrong."

"I don't know," Yamamoto chimed in. "Tsuna's pretty amazing sometimes. And I probably would have done the exact same thing. Besides," he said, like he was commenting on the weather, "Tsuna was with Chrome the entire time, and if we can't trust one of our own to watch our backs, who can we trust?" Yamamoto turned towards Tsuna, then. "I really wished you had at least come to me, though. I would have helped you in a heartbeat."

Tsuna flushed. He didn't really want to admit it, but the anger at Reborn had made him abandon practically all sense of rational thought, and he hadn't been in his right mind. Just thinking back on it all, everything was a little hazy. He remembered being angry, enough to feel it in his bones, and then running into Chrome and he knew the only thing that would save him was finding Mukuro and getting him back home.

So Tsuna said, "I know," real quiet, because he did, he just hadn't at the time.

"I was there, Reborn," Chrome said, and it was quiet and hardly visible, but there was anger there, as well. Muted, but just as real as his own. "I protected Boss. He's safe."

"That's not the point," Iemitsu growled, speaking up and surprising the room as a whole. Iemitsu still had the concerned look in his eye that Tsuna had a hard time convincing himself was real.

"Then what _is_ the point?" Tsuna asked.

Iemitsu scowled. "The point is that you _could_ have been hurt," he said, a high and mighty tone that made Tsuna's lips turn down immediately. It reminded him of too many unpleasant childhood memories. "And next time, you might."

"So include him next time," Yamamoto urged, eyes flitting between Tsuna and Reborn. "Don't leave him out of this anymore. I thought we agreed days ago that we were going to keep him informed. Didn't the three of us make a deal?"

Thinking back, Tsuna remembered talking to Yamamoto and Reborn about leading and finding a way home, but that felt like a million years ago. _So much_ had happened between then and now, and remembering that far back, nearly a week ago, was much more difficult than it should've been. But he remembered that lousy deal. The one where Tsuna lead as long as he was kept up to date with everything, included in the planning and the war. That was the compromise.

And Reborn was pulling back because he didn't want to _break_ Tsuna.

_Again,_ Tsuna's brain supplied. _He doesn't want to break you again._ So the begged the question, why did Reborn think he broke Tsuna the first time? Was it because of the story of how the war had started?

"Do you blame yourself?" Tsuna blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him, but he only had eyes for Reborn. He was desperate to understand Reborn. Desperate to get rid of the rage and the confusion and all of the stupid misunderstandings.

He had never hated secrets more in his life than he did at that moment.

But Reborn's walls came up the moment the words left Tsuna's mouth, and he knew there was no prying the answers from the world's best hitman. He wouldn't tell if he didn't want to, and there was nothing Tsuna could do, no matter how much he really wanted to.

"Is Tsuna-kun in trouble or not?" Enma suddenly piped up. His friend (Julie?) was grumbling unintelligibly beside him. "That really isn't clear for me."

"Yes," Iemitsu and Reborn said at the same time that Yamamoto and Dino said, "no."

"He's not in trouble," Nana said, a small, sad smile pulling at her lips, and making Tsuna's heart break—because he never wanted to be the one to put that expression on her face. Never.

"I'm not?"

Nana shook her head. "No, you're not," she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. And it was so comforting that Tsuna found himself relaxing in the warmth that surrounded her. "I would never discourage you from trying to do what you think is right, Tsu-kun." Her lips turned down a little, and she looked somewhat disapproving than before. "Just don't do it again, Tsuna. Not when you have so many people behind you willing to help. Okay?"

Tsuna nodded readily—anything to make that frown turn back into a smile. "Okay," he said quietly.

Fortunately, Reborn did nothing but narrow his eyes at the two Sawadas. Didn't say a word more about it, and Tsuna was immensely glad. If Reborn started shouting at him now, then he was sure he'd either crumble to pieces and start crying, or start shouting back, which would probably lead to chaos.

"Tsuna, please don't do that again," Gokudera said from next to him, and Tsuna looked over at him, meeting those intense green eyes. "I don't think I can take it."

"I won't," Tsuna promised, fully intending to keep this promise. And when Lambo and Yamamoto beamed at him from their seats (Ryohei was asleep, it looked like, which explained the lack of interruptions) and Tsuna didn't think he had never felt so glad to make a promise in his life.

Basil sighed. "You should probably head to bed, Decimo."

Tsuna blinked, caught off guard as he struggled to comprehend what Basil was implying. His friend's eyes cast downwards, towards Tsuna's hands, and the brunet followed them, finally noticing how bad his hands were trembling. Actually, his whole body was shaking with exhaustion. He'd forgotten about how long he'd used his flames for, and the rollercoaster of emotions hadn't done him any favors.

Gokudera stood up quietly, and Tsuna was still sort of unnerved at how uncharacteristically quiet the bomber had stayed throughout the duration of the meeting. But he sagged against Gokudera, tucking himself against his side the moment Gokudera held out an arm, grateful for the support, all the while still holding onto his mother's hand like a lifeline.

"Right," Tsuna said. "Bed."

It was morning, and practically nothing had been accomplished at their impromptu meeting besides Tsuna skirting the consequences of his escape. He was tired, could barely hold himself up, and didn't know how much more he could actually handle without crying.

Of course it was then that an explosion of pink smoke materialized in the middle of the meeting room. Pink smoke that could only mean one thing.

Someone had just used the Ten Year Bazooka. The question, though, was who?


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks to NightmareAx7, KellyKatt19, Jazebeth, Two-Stomach, Morgan, Logfella, misoriri, and RainAmbrosius for reviewing. (So many holy wow)**

**To those I couldn't respond to privately,**

**NightmareAx7: **Sorry for keeping you in suspense so long! Here's the update. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you're on the edge of your seat :)

**Morgan: **Thank you! I'm glad you think so!

**Okay. Here we go. Enjoy.**

* * *

Tsuna was at a crossroads, and he didn't know how anyone could look at him and not wonder how the hell he was still on his feet. He was more than sure he was pale-faced and shaky (exhaustion, shock, and overwhelming emotions did that to you, unfortunately), and he didn't get why the others didn't just send him to bed.

Or maybe they hadn't noticed his instability. Maybe that was why he was here, in the training room with Lambo, instead of in the meeting room with the grownups or in bed sleeping.

That was okay, though. He would much rather spend his time sitting next to Lambo, leaning against a wall, staring at the letter that still sat unopened in his trembling hands. Who cared about a stupid meeting anyways? Much bigger things to worry about here, obviously.

Alright, so he was stressed. Not ten minutes ago he was screaming out his feelings to Reborn and the rest of his family, and then the Ten Year Bazooka had gone off. He had a right to be stressed. This was a stressful situation.

He glanced back down at the letter.

A _very_ stressful situation.

"Tsuna?" Lambo murmured sleepily. "Are you okay?"

Sighing, Tsuna patted Lambo's curly hair comfortingly. The poor kid. It was almost seven in the morning. If he was right, then Lambo had probably gotten as much sleep as _he_ had—which is to say, none. And didn't that just suck. A lot.

Why were things so _complicated?_

"I'm fine," Tsuna murmured, and Lambo settled against his arm.

Lambo hummed, his eyes half-lidded. "But, Iemitsu said-"

"I'm alright," Tsuna said, quieter, wishing he could really believe in his own words. They felt hollow and empty, even as they left his lips. Lambo seemed too tired to really pick up on the strain in Tsuna's voice, though. "Just go to sleep. I'll wake you up when they finish talking."

Breathing evening out almost instantly, Lambo's weight sagged fully into Tsuna. The kid was dead to the world before Tsuna had finished his sentence.

Tsuna envied the kid. As much as he wanted to pass out right then and there, his mind was too active. Thoughts raced around in his brain, overwhelming him, and he knew he'd have a tough time falling asleep without settling them.

The letter. It was the one thing that was on his mind. If he could just open it, get it over with, then maybe he'd be able to relax and stop worrying about the next thing that came to surprise him.

He glanced toward the hallway, but like the first twelve times, nothing and no one was going to come through the door and tell him what was going on.

He thought that was what he hated about all of this. He had no idea what was happening. _Again_. Iemitsu had practically shoved him and Lambo out the door before the smoke could clear, and now there was someone here from _his_ time. The _present_. And not only had Tsuna been excluded from meeting with them, he had no idea who had even showed up.

Was it Reborn? His guardians? Dino? Basil? He didn't know. And it was eating him up from the inside out.

The worst part was when Iemitsu left the room a few moments after Tsuna did, only to find his son exactly in the same place he'd left him, staring blankly at the door. His mind had been a mess-heck, his mind still _was _a mess. But right then, nothing could have hidden the fact that Tsuna was lost.

And Iemitsu must have seen it. Somehow, he became something like a concerned parent, putting his hands on Tsuna's shoulders like the weight of the whole world was sat upon them and he could maybe help his son lift it. But he couldn't. Whether Iemitsu acted like a father right now or not, he couldn't do anything for Tsuna. The only people who could were two years in the past, no matter how much he wanted to believe otherwise.

As if to make up for his short givings, Iemitsu's lips curled into a rueful smile, and he placed the letter into Tsuna's hands. "_Open it when you're ready. It may help you feel less lost."_

And then he was gone again, with Tsuna more confused than ever. The man who had told him, _to his face,_ that he just couldn't afford to trust him, had looked at him like he was the sun. Whatever had changed in the man while Tsuna had been on his rescue mission was confusing, and he didn't want to deal with anyone or anything that confused him right now. He didn't need anymore questions. What he needed, more than anything, were answers.

The door slid open then, and Tsuna's head snapped up.

He deflated, though, when he saw who it was.

"Spanner," Tsuna greeted hoarsely, keeping his voice soft to keep from waking Lambo-although, it probably didn't matter much. Lambo was sleeping like the dead against his arm, and Tsuna wasn't even sure an _explosion_ could wake him up at this point.

His brow crinkled as he saw the distressed look replacing the mechanic's normally bored expression, and thoughts of the letter and Iemitsu were shoved to the side.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna asked.

Spanner shook his head as he walked over to the pair on the floor. Tsuna's eyes followed him as he sat down in front of them. "I need to talk to you. _Just_ you."

It occurred to Tsuna that Spanner and Shoichi hadn't been in the meeting room before, so there wasn't much of a chance that either would know what was happening, much less where to find Tsuna. Not even the people who were in the meeting knew where Tsuna had taken Lambo and hidden (if anyone even knew he was gone and _not _sitting outside the room waiting like he probably should be). Tsuna figured they would never guess a _training room_ of all places. Not after being almost strangled to death in one.

But also, "What about Lambo?" Tsuna wondered, staring down at his charge. "I can't just leave him here."

Spanner hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. "Fine. Bring the cow kid. But we've got to move. _Now_."

Tsuna didn't question Spanner. By the serious glint he usually never got in his eye, Tsuna could tell that this was important. Lambo was quickly shaken awake, just long enough for Tsuna to get him to ride on his back, arms curled around the older boy's neck, before Lambo was completely out again.

"Okay," Tsuna said, his stomach fluttering. "Lead the way."

* * *

Spanner led them down to his lab, and Tsuna was shaking by the time he stepped foot into the place of his nightmares-not that he got much sleep anyways. Too much to do, too much to worry about.

The portal was inactive, he noticed. Tsuna wasn't sure whether to be happy or disappointed about that, so he settled for not looking at it as much as possible. Out of sight, out of mind, right? (_Wrong._)

"Shoichi," Spanner called to the redhead tampering with some machinery. Spanner's tone of voice was back to boredom. "I got him for you."

Tsuna blinked back his surprise when Shoichi dropped his tools, spun around, and let out a relieved sigh. "Tsunayoshi-kun!" The red-head's gaze dropped to Tsuna's hand, where the letter was still largely unopened. "You got Reborn-san's letter! Thank goodness. We didn't know if we were suddenly going to appear in the middle of a battle of something, so we programmed a fail-safe, but Reborn thought even if we didn't get to talk to you, all of you should still know the basics of what we found out and-"

"Shoichi that's enough," Spanner said, not unkindly. "You're overwhelming him."

Shoichi blinked, looking first at Spanner and then at Tsuna, apparently only now realizing that Tsuna was frozen. Not moving at all. Because it couldn't be. It shouldn't be possible just yet. The portal was _broken_, so how was Shoichi Irie, the one from Tsuna's time, _the present_, here in the future?

* * *

Tsuna's brain was reeling. The portals needed to be connected to work? It would take another couple weeks before the portal on this side was finished? The Bazooka wouldn't work because of a time limit? He was having a hard time getting all of this new information to fit into his already overwhelmed brain.

Lambo was sleeping, curled up in a spare blanket over in a corner. Spanner was fiddling with the portal. Shoichi was looking at him with a steady gaze. And Tsuna….Tsuna was staring at the letter in his hand like it could suddenly make everything make sense again.

"_Open it when you're ready. It may help you feel less lost."_

And who knew. Maybe it could. He certainly felt pretty lost right now.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, I know this is going to be tough," Shoichi said. He looked hesitant but determined, and it was odd combination that could only look right on Irie Shoichi. "But you know everyone's waiting for you back home, right?"

Tsuna swallowed, glancing back down at the letter. "Yeah."

"Have you- Have you met with Gokudera-kun yet?"

Tsuna started at the abrupt change of topic, the words spinning around in his mind for a few seconds before he realized their meaning. He sat up straighter, the letter clutched just a bit tighter in his hand. "Wait a minute. Gokudera-kun's here?" he asked, barely daring himself to believe it. "He came with you?"

This was insane. Was he dreaming? Were his friends really here? Was _Gokudera-kun_ really here? In this time?

Shoichi nodded, his expression a little pained. "Basil-kun as well."

"What about Reborn?" Tsuna demanded. "Did Reborn come, too?"

But Tsuna's hopes were dashed when Shoichi shook his head. "Reborn-san wasn't all that clear on why he chose who he did. I mean, it made sense to send me or Spanner so we explain the problems with connecting the two portals, but he didn't say anything about why he sent Gokudera-kun or Basil-kun."

Tsuna nodded. "How long are you guys here for?"

"Four hours."

"That long?" Tsuna asked, genuinely surprised. The old Bazooka only let them switch for five minutes.

Shoichi pulled his glasses off, wiping them on his shirt and replacing them. "That's as long as we could allow. Reborn-san believed it would be dangerous to remain switched any longer than that."

"That makes sense," Tsuna murmured.

Spanner chose that moment to crouch down next to where Shoichi and Tsuna were sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. "I wish you guys could sit here and chat forever, but we've only got about 3 hours to figure out this code, Shoichi. I need your help."

Shoichi sighed. "Right." He glanced back at Tsuna, though. "You should go find Gokudera-kun. He's been out of his mind with worry."

Tsuna met Spanner's eyes then, the blue sharp and fierce in a way that put Tsuna off slightly. He wasn't sure he knew how to handle this Spanner. He was used to the intense curiosity, but there was something else burning in that gaze that kept Tsuna unsettled. It was a look he recognized from Gokudera and Yamamoto.

Loyalty. Huh.

But then Spanner blinked, and the intensity was gone. "We'll look after the cow child," Spanner said decidedly. "You go on and find your right hand."

* * *

When Tsuna got back to the meeting room, he was out of breath. Turned out, running from the basement floors to the top floors was kind of exhausting when the elevator was occupied. He'd been forced to take the stairs when he couldn't remember where the other elevators were located.

He stopped in front of the door, wheezing and panting. Waiting until he caught his breath was the best idea at this point.

"Tenth?"

Tsuna's breath caught, and, trembling, he lifted his head to the figure standing in the doorway of the meeting room. Silver hair. Green eyes. A few inches shorter than he'd last seen him. Vongola Ring on his finger.

Gokudera Hayato. _His _Gokudera Hayato.

And behind him was _his_ Basil.

Tsuna flung himself at Gokudera, arms wrapping around the bomber's suddenly flushed neck. He even laughed wetly when Gokudera flailed around a little and squeaked a very high pitched, "_T-Tenth?_" But Gokudera lightly encased Tsuna within his arms, like a shield of protection from the world determined to bring Tsuna to his knees.

If he thought he'd been happy before, nothing could have prepared him for the pure, ecstatic joy flowing through him at that very moment when he was surrounded by the warm and familiar arms of his best friend.

* * *

_Dame-Tsuna,_

_I hope you're still alive. It's a good thing you've been trained by the best, so I'm not too worried. And I hope you aren't thinking about giving up, otherwise you can look forward to a huge training session when you get back. Explosives will be involved._

_But other than that, I want you to keep fighting, Tsuna. As hard as you can. We're all trying our hardest to get you back, and your family misses their boss. Gokudera is doing a good job as a right-hand man. Just hang on, Dame-Tsuna. We will get you home as soon as we can._

_There's nothing your family won't do for you, so I hope there's nothing you won't do for your family, past or present._

_Another thing. I've learned something important from your future-self. The Convergence. It's to take place on October 31__st__. While on the surface it just sounds like the whole Argine Family getting together to plan an attack, it's really much more complicated. They're planning on wiping out the Vongola by using some kind of weapon._

_What the weapon is, I don't know. Your future-self has no information regarding it, but watch out. I suspect from what your future-self has said that it played a hand in switching the two of you. If it has to deal with time travel, be careful._

_Other than that, the Vongola have a plan. Your future-self and future-Gokudera have scouted out the Argine base, apparently, and they've come up with a way to get into the weapons room—much like with Merone Base. Once they get into the room with the weapon, they plan to destroy it by resonating all of the rings together to create powerful flames. Apparently, it's the only way this weapon can be destroyed—and this is all based off what Gokudera and your future-self have found out._

_The Resonance—ask Gokudera to show you what it is and train you to do it. I believe you can do it, Dame-Tsuna, so you need to believe in yourself, too. That's the only way it's going to happen._

_Unfortunately, from what I've heard, the spy is onto this plan, so things might not go as smooth as the Vongola is hoping. I do agree that the Resonance is necessary. So channel your Dying Will into this, or I'll shoot you._

_Regards,_

_Reborn_

* * *

_Reborn. Your past-self said we should tell the past-me the plan. And after what he said, I decided to go along with him. Don't fight it. Don't try to do this by yourself. Just let him help. If you believe in me, then you believe in him. I think we've both forgotten something very important, and I'm going to take this opportunity of the past to remember it._

_Keep our family safe._

_Tsuna._

_P.S. The spy knows. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier._

* * *

_Present_

Reborn smirked as the three newcomers exploded into pink smoke, returning to their original time.

_All you have to do, Tsuna, is stay alive._

* * *

**Okay, it's been a couple weeks. I've been meaning to update for ages. And this chapter was pretty tough. Again, let me know if I missed anything while editing. The entire thing was filled with red before I edited it, so I just want to make sure. I'll go back and fix it up when I have time, but school is kicking my butt and that's the main reason this wasn't out like two weeks ago like I meant it to be.**

**On a different note, this ends "part 1" of War Torn (no, the story is not finished, yes, it will be posted in this story). I am going on a hiatus until December in order to get ahead on "part 2" and I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo to do that. So again, December. Hopefully the first week.**

**Thanks for all of your wonderful support. It's really gotten me to where I am now. Two and half years of working on this story, and it's still going strong! Thank you all so much! I love you and I'm so glad you've chosen to support me in writing this story. I only hope I can live up to your expectations in the next part to come.**

**Speaking of part 2, it will be much faster paced, I think. While there will be plenty of character development and character interaction in general, I'm hoping to make it much more action-based than this first part was.**

**Again, thanks so much! I'll be back in December! (Although, if you ever want to chat, or have me write a prompt from this story, feel free to talk to me on tumblr hometothesky) **


	24. Chapter 24

**Happy New Year! It's not December anymore. Sorry about that. Thank you all for being patient! And thanks to those of you who reviewed! I'm not sure who I replied to and who I didn't, so if I didn't then I apologize.**

**This is kind of an intro chapter to part two. Super relevant for things to come, but with some family feels packed in there, too! Lots of dialogue. If yu have any questions let me know, and please leave a review on the way out!**

* * *

"_You screwed this up."_

"_I know."_

"_What are you going to do about it?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_You need figure it out."_

"_Yeah. I will."_

Tsuna's eyes snapped open.

This wasn't his bedroom.

And this wasn't the base.

His eyes were open, but he couldn't see anything.

Where _was_ he?

"_So. What will it be?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_You keep saying that. You have to use your brain if you ever want to get out of here."_

"_I will. Stop pressuring me."_

"_This is a tense situation, and if you aren't feeling the pressure, then I'd have to ask what's wrong with you."_

"_I _am_ feeling the pressure. I understand, alright? Stop bothering me and let me do my job."_

Those voices weren't the least bit familiar. And he couldn't see. He felt claustrophobic, but he forced himself to stay still. He couldn't panic. Not right now. Not when he didn't know where the hell he was or who the hell he was with.

Where were his friends?

Where was Reborn?

Why was he here?

Where _was_ here?

And who was he with?

How had this happened?

What was the last thing that happened?

He couldn't remember. He moved on.

What was happening?

He didn't know the answer to that one either, but it stuck. He couldn't force his brain to move past it at all. He couldn't breathe. What the _hell_ was happening? He couldn't help it. He choked.

"_Wait. Did you hear that?"_

"_Can't you pay attention for more than five minutes?"_

"_I thought I heard something coming from the closet."_

"_I'm sure it was nothing."_

"_Yeah, well I don't want to stake my life on 'nothing.'"_

Footsteps grew closer, and still Tsuna's lungs refused to work properly. He couldn't draw a breath, and his head was getting fuzzy. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't stop the voices from finding him. Couldn't do _anything_.

By the time the closet door had opened and the voices discovered him, Tsuna had already passed out.

* * *

When Tsuna woke up a second time, he immediately sat up, gasping for breath, a shaky hand clutching at his shirt.

"Tenth?"

Tsuna's gaze snapped to Gokudera, who was half-risen out of the chair by his bed. And that's when he realized he could see. Gokudera was with him. He could breathe. Everything was okay.

But…had that all been a dream? It had certainly _felt_ real.

He still didn't know what was going on, either. The last thing he remembered was clearing his dishes from dinner. He'd just been about to finish up the training schedule Hibari and Gokudera had given for the day.

The past two weeks had been more or less the same. Ever since the incident with the modified Ten Year Bazooka, Gokudera and Hibari had basically taken charge of Tsuna. They had developed a training regimen that would help Tsuna handle his flames better and hopefully adjust to the Resonance quicker.

They were supposed to start the Resonance training tomorrow.

That is, if it wasn't _already_ tomorrow.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna's thoughts stuttered, and he blinked. He'd stopped breathing again (Again? Or had it all been a dream? He didn't know what was going on. He was _scared._) Gokudera placed a hand on his shoulder, face concerned, but warm.

Whatever Gokudera had talked about with Tsuna's future self had done wonders.

Tsuna breathed in. And then let it out in a choked exhale. Again and again until his lungs decided to properly work.

He flopped back on the bed as soon as the breathing problems passed, his head feeling a bit clearer. His eyes slid shut. Exhaustion clung to him, even though he'd just barely woken up. What was even going on anymore?

"Are you alright now?"

Right. Gokudera was still here, still sitting in the chair by his bed.

"I'm okay," Tsuna said, his eyes opening to meet Gokudera's. "Just…what happened?"

Gokudera looked hesitant. "I'm really sure. All I know is one of the new recruits found you tied up in a closet, passed out."

So it hadn't been a dream.

His head felt way too messed up for this. He wasn't thinking straight. Nothing was really clear right now, and he really, really wanted to go back to sleep and pretend this wasn't happening. Just for a little bit.

"Do you remember anything?" Gokudera's voice was quiet.

Tsuna just shook his head. "Last thing I remember was finishing dinner."

Gokudera sighed. "This isn't good."

Tsuna hummed in thoughtful agreement.

Things were a lot less tense between Tsuna and Gokudera nowadays. He felt comfortable around this Gokudera in a way that he hadn't before, and it was nice. It had taken talking to his own Gokudera to realize that the two weren't as different as he'd originally thought they were. Both were fiercely protective over those they considered a friend.

The only difference was, this Gokudera had been reminded of something painful every time he looked at Tsuna, and his Gokudera had only seen someone of respect that Tsuna could become. Hence the different responses.

"_What I am like in the future?"_ Tsuna had asked the Gokudera from his time. _"Everyone here tells me that I've become too distant."_

Gokudera had protested immediately. _"That's not it at all, Tenth! Your future-self's story is a sad one, and if anything, I'd say he just needs a little more time to adjust to what he's…to what he's done."_ Gokudera's voice got softer. _"I respect him. He doesn't think what he did was wrong, but he was still sad that he had to do it."_

"_Do you think I'll turn out the same way?"_

Gokudera had gone silent for a few moments, and when he did speak, it was soft and gentle in a way that Tsuna had never really heard before from the Gokudera of his time. _"No, I don't think it will be the same. If only because you're a lot more prepared for the consequences."_

Tsuna's shoulders slumped. _"Oh."_

"_N-Not that that's a bad thing, Tenth! But,"_ Gokudera got quieter again, _"I think that a situation like that will never happen again. I'm not going to let it, Tenth. We'll be by your side, and we'll support your decisions. That's what makes you the boss, right?"_

It had been a pretty eye-opening conversation, to say the least, and it had brought about a little bit more understanding about what the future Gokudera had been thinking, and what he probably regretted.

He'd only been trying to save Tsuna's future self, was all. But because of that, he'd gone against future Tsuna's decisions, and it had turned ugly. He must have regretted it so much. And then to be reminded of what Tsuna could have been had only he made the right decision. It must have been so tough.

So yeah. Tsuna understood where Gokudera was coming from, and he was trying to meet him halfway. Actually, he was trying to meet _everyone_ halfway. And for the most part, he was succeeding.

Well, almost.

"Does Reborn know?" Tsuna asked, sitting up again. He felt a little better now that he'd taken a moment to go through his thoughts. But he still carefully avoided thinking too much about what he remembered.

Gokudera shook his head and sat back. "The recruit ran into me and brought me straight to you. I made sure no one saw me taking you in here, and I made sure the recruit knew to stay quiet." Gokudera leaned forward. "Are you ready to talk now?"

"About what?"

"I think you know," Gokudera said. "I can tell that you remember more than you're letting on."

Tsuna's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I guess. It was just-" Tsuna cut himself off as he clutched at his chest again. "It was really scary. I couldn't…breathe. There were some voices right outside, and I couldn't see or breathe or move, and I-"

"Okay. Okay, I get it. So you don't remember much. Do you at least remember what the voices were saying?"

Tsuna held a hand to his forehead, like it could help subside the ache settling just behind it. _Did_ he remember what the voices had been saying? He replayed the memories in his head.

"I think…." Tsuna trailed off.

"You think?" Gokudera prompted.

"I think they were talking about some kind of job or something. At least at the beginning. I can't really remember what was said after a few seconds. Everything was kind of…fuzzy."

Sighing, Gokudera sat back again. "That's okay. It was probably just a passing conversation anyways. You shouldn't worry about it too much. For now, just stick with me, or Yamamoto, or Sasagawa, or Hibari whenever you go somewhere."

"Yeah, okay," Tsuna said. A thought nagged at him, though, and his hand dropped from his forehead. "Are you going to tell anyone else?"

Gokudera raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to?"

"Maybe…Yamamoto?"

"Okay, then. We'll tell Yamamoto."

It was a testament to how serious Gokudera was being when he didn't even call anybody by a nickname. Tsuna swallowed. After the nice routine they'd gotten into after two weeks, he hadn't wanted it to change like this.

Only it had. And now they had to deal with it. Eventually.

* * *

"You got locked in a closet?" Yamamoto asked the next morning as Tsuna led him and Gokudera into the training. "That's not good."

"What was your first clue?" Gokudera murmured, but Yamamoto ignored him, instead keeping his attention on Tsuna.

"Are you feeling alright, Tsuna?"

Tsuna shot him a small smile as they started stretching. "I'm fine. I don't really remember much from it."

"If you say so."

The more time went on, the more it felt like a dream, Tsuna noticed. He could barely remember much from it anymore, to be honest. All he could really remember as of now was the panic that had gripped him so hard he'd forgotten how to breathe. It reminded him so much of the time Byakuran had crushed him with his giant fist, and he never wanted to feel like that ever again.

Tsuna shook off his thoughts the moment Hibari swept in during their quiet stretching, entering the room as dramatically as ever. His eyes raked across each of them, narrowing when he spoke.

"Where are the rest of the herbivores?"

"The rest of them?" Tsuna echoed, looking to Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"You didn't forget, did you Tsuna?" Yamamoto laughed. "We're starting the Resonance training today!"

"And we need all the Guardians to do it," Gokudera added. "That lazy bunch need to hurry their asses up. Don't know who they think they are, keeping their boss waiting like this."

Yamamoto chuckled. "Aw, come on, Hayato. It's only seven. I'm sure they're just finishing breakfast."

"They should have finished it _before_ it was time to train!"

"Yo!" In walked Ryohei, Chrome, Mukuro, and Lambo behind him.

"Sorry we're late. We had to get Lambo's Vongola Gear out of storage," Chrome explained.

"It took _all of you?!"_ Gokudera exclaimed. "Why couldn't you just get it yourself, you brat?!"

Lambo stuck his tongue out at the bomber. "It's _heavy_."

"Actually," Mukuro cut in before Gokudera could yell again, "we were keeping an eye on the little cow child. You know how distracted he can get, and Nagi was adamant about all of us being here as quickly as possible."

Tsuna laughed a little, letting the arguing and the laughing and the warmth wash over him.

Hibari cleared his throat in irritation. "Let's get this over with, herbivores."

It kind of felt like home. Maybe he could leave the closet problem for his future self to deal with. For now, he liked it right where he was at.


End file.
